Jeff Ulbrich was a gritty player, a respected assistant and now takes over a struggling Jets team

Jeff Ulbrich was in the middle of putting together the game plan for the New York Jets' defense when he got the news that stunned him — and the rest of the NFL.

Robert Saleh was out as the head coach. And Ulbrich was taking over for the rest of the season.

“And then four hours later, I’m doing a press conference here with you guys as the new interim coach of the New York Jets,” Ulbrich said during a video call with reporters Tuesday.

Owner Woody Johnson made the surprising decision to fire Saleh just five games into his fourth season. Johnson was disappointed by the direction the team was headed after it dropped to 2-3 with a 23-17 loss to Minnesota in London on Sunday.