Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said the death of his friend, Cristina Ulbrich, wife of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, put things in perspective for him.
The Falcons announced on July 31 that Cristina died at the age of 48 after battling cancer.
During an interview with The Athletic, LaFleur explained that he missed Cristina’s funeral service due to a plane mechanical issue, as well as work — and said that he worries about Jeff.
“All the sudden, I’m back in meetings,” LaFleur said after explaining that he was stuck in Wisconsin due to a mechanical issue with the private plane he was on.
“I’m like, ‘It’s out of my control.’”
LaFleur returned to the Packers’ facilities for training camp while his wife, BreAnne, traveled separately and made it in time to support Ulbrich and his family.
“It’s different … when it’s somebody your age,” LaFleur, 46, said quietly. “She was a rock star. I think about it every day. I worry about ‘Brich.”
LaFleur was talking about “what he can and cannot let go,” according to The Athletic, which said the coach was “different” and clearly affect by grief.
“It puts all of this stuff a little bit more in perspective,” he said as he gestured around his large office. “… you can’t take it for granted, that’s for sure.”
LaFleur was a quarterbacks coach for the Falcons while Jeff was the linebackers coach for Atlanta from 2015-16.
LaFleur, his younger brother Mike, who is the Arizona Cardinals’ first-year head coach, Jeff and Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh, plus their wives and kids, have been friends for years.
Jeff was not with the team during the Falcons’ first three days of training camp after Cristina’s passing.
“Cristina will always be an important part of our Falcons family,” team owner Arthur M. Blank said in a statement. “My heart is with Jeff, [and his and Cristina’s three children] Samantha, Jax, Jace and the entire Ulbrich family during this unimaginable time.
“It was always evident how deeply Cristina loved her family and how fiercely she supported them.”
