Dirk Koetter named Falcons’ new offensive coordinator
Dirk Koetter, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars, agreed to terms to become the Falcons
Dirk Koetter (Associated Press)
new offensive coordinator on Sunday, the team confirmed.
Koetter is set to talk to the media on a conference call at 11 a.m. Monday.
“I am very pleased to add Coach Koetter as our offensive coordinator,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith said in a statement issued by the team. “Dirk is a veteran offensive coach who will bring years of NFL experience as an offensive coordinator as well as a fresh set of ideas to our offense. He is bright, he understands the intricacies of the vertical passing game, but he also wants to be able to run the football which is very important in the NFL. I look forward to working with Dirk and have tremendous confidence that he will be a great addition to our team and our coaching staff.”
Koetter, 52, was Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2011. He will replace Mike Mularkey, who left to become Jacksonville’s head coach. AJC columnist Jeff Schultz has checked in already on the hire.
Falcons coach Mike Smith and Koetter were Jacksonville’s coordinators in 2007. Smith was hired to take over the Falcons the following season.
Smith is high on Koetter’s work and with how running back Maurice Jones-Drew led the league in rushing while the Jaguars had a rookie quarterback and an anemic passing attack. The Falcons running attack posted big numbers, but struggled in short yardage situations. Missing Pro Bowl fullback Ovie Mughelli certainly hur their short-yardage attack.
Koetter was head coach in the college ranks at Boise State and Arizona State. The Sun Devils’ vertical passing attack helped him land the offensive coordinator position with Jacksonville.
At Arizona State he had four winning seasons and went to four bowl games.
Thanks to @CavemanGamer who tweet us this link. It’s an interview with Koetter from July 2011 on XandOlabs.com.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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559 comments Add your comment
WS
January 16th, 2012
8:45 am
SHE WOULD BE NICE TO LOOK AT. SHE HAS MORE GOING FOR HER THAN KOJACK
WS
January 16th, 2012
8:51 am
Falcons are a farm team for the elite teams in NFL. Watching playoff on almost all of them, they have cast-off falcons playing for them. Boley for Gaints, peprah in secondary for green bay. Peele for Niners and I can go on. Looks like we are cutting the wrong guys.
Chris L
January 16th, 2012
8:55 am
Stunning hire, and by stunning I mean bad. The Falcons are regressing. This organization is now starting to resemble the one owned by the inept Smith family. There is absolutely no way to justify hiring an offensive coordinator with such a horrible track record. I was thrilled to see the Jags stupidly hire our OC so we could get him out of town but it looks like the joke is on us. Enjoy your last year as coach, Mike Smith.
trademark
January 16th, 2012
8:59 am
Smith will enjoy it. He’s halfway out the door anyway, and he knows it. Might as well hire his good buddy and let him earn a buck or to.
$§/§ Cronyism. Exactly what’s dooming the entire country.
phil is mad
January 16th, 2012
9:00 am
what a joke now from middle of the road to dead last
Ed
January 16th, 2012
9:08 am
Jacksonville has been setting the NFL on fire with their explosive offense huh!! Guess that’s what qualifies him as the falcons lame duck offensive coordinator,experience in futility.
mothers concerned
January 16th, 2012
9:10 am
Why would you hire someone with a losing season
Joey
January 16th, 2012
9:12 am
So, Smith can hire about anybody he wanted, and he got the OC of about the only offense that is more boring than his own?
Thanks coach, with this hire I’ll be saving up for the early-bird, DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket.
You just go ahead with your 1 yard and a cloud of dust offense. I’ll choose another game – ANY GAME – for my entertainment.
Billy Mack
January 16th, 2012
9:15 am
Do they really expect falcons fans to have any hope going forward after these moves?
birddroppings
January 16th, 2012
9:17 am
Since when did the Jacksonville Jags become a winning team to build your team from. Buddy system gets coaches fired Smith.
TD has no clue!
January 16th, 2012
9:17 am
Smith is gone after 2012 season thank goodness.
Falcon Man
January 16th, 2012
9:20 am
WHO DAT ?? The Niners !!! Way to go Niners !!
I know,I know,you all have a Super Bowl ring… Thats nice
One more time….WHO DAT ?? WHO DAT ?? The Niners !!!!!
Preston Thompson
January 16th, 2012
9:21 am
Folks, what’s going on? Something is oh so screwed up.
Worst Move Ever
January 16th, 2012
9:27 am
Jacksonville’s Offense was Horrid at best last year and we actually hire this guy?
GOOD BYE MR. SMITH
January 16th, 2012
9:27 am
GOOD OLE BOY HIRE! ANYONE STILL THINK DEL RIO WON”T BE THE DC!
GOOD BYE MR. SMITH
January 16th, 2012
9:29 am
Friday Night Lights coming! If you guys don’t show up and BOO this team, and send Artie a message, you don’t have a hair on you…
Luke
January 16th, 2012
9:35 am
Koetter has done nothing in Jax; While Bratkowski offense has been somewhat successful in two organizations. While neither would have not been my first or top choice. When looking at it I would have chosen Bratkoswki over Koeter especially if we wanted to upgrade our passing game.
In Seattle Bratkowski had the 1997 #3 offense in the NFL and the #1 passing game…which is amazing due to the fact that the club had no talent… All three years there the rushing offense was 3, 5, and 13…In 10 years in Cincinnati he had a run from 05-07 were the passing offense was ranked 5, 6, and 7…and the overall offense was ranked 6, 8, and 10 in the NFL… Not to mention in 2007, Palmer became the fifth-fastest player (59 games) in NFL history to reach the 100 mark in TD passes. Palmer knocked Brett Favre and Daunte Culpepper out of the top five in the category, and joined a group that also includes two Hall of Famers (Dan Marino and Johnny Unitas), a surefire future Hall of Famer (Peyton Manning) and a Super Bowl winner with Hall of Fame potential (Kurt Warner). Over 2004-06, Rudi Johnson’s 4221 rushing yards were the most by any Bengal in a three-season span. Earlier under Bratkowski’s watch, Dillon posted a pair of 1300-yard seasons, and QB Jon Kitna saw his stock as an NFL starter revived. Also We can see how Cedric Benson career has been resurrected in the Bengals offense.
While Dirk is better than B. Schottenheimer not sure if he is better than Bratkowski…Jags may have gotten the better deal..
Dirk has never had a Wide out or TE with over 1,000yds…His best year came when the jags had a monster Defense and the team still had Fred Taylor and Jones drew….The rushing Offense was ranked 7…the passing offense was ranked 15….
Most reception by a Wide Koetter Wide out….65….Most yards…868… good news…is Garrard complete over 60% of passes under Koetter….If that is good news….I would argue maybe they should have thrown more…But hey Koetter is a passing guru…
GOOD BYE MR. SMITH
January 16th, 2012
9:35 am
ARTHUR SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR THE STAMP! I WILL NOT REUP FOR SEASON TIX! THIS IS A GARBAGE HIRE…
LexLuth
January 16th, 2012
9:38 am
Man….Seems we should have at least interviewed other candidates than hire a friend when that friend had the 32nd rank offense this season. That is to say he had no ownership of that stat. It was ALL due to personell? Really? Not even talking to Clements? or Billick? or ???? Did we just swap problems with Jax? It doesnt come with a warm and fuzzy feeling that is for sure.
Billy Mack
January 16th, 2012
9:40 am
Along with the acknowlegement, that the team will purposely overlook talent in order to find “choir boys” how can we expect to get any better. After getting physically dominated by the Giants, along with past postseason impotence, the team doesn’t have any warriors. Sans Julio Jones, I can’t think of anyone on the falcons roster other teams would fear. What are they really trying to do??
SawThat1nce
January 16th, 2012
9:43 am
Nothing like a big loss to shutup the saints fan trolls that usually infest this blog.
warthog
January 16th, 2012
9:44 am
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Dumbo
January 16th, 2012
9:54 am
Snuffy Smith please quit hiring Jacksonville rejects….lordy, next we’ll hire theJacksonville director of scouting. Blank, please take over and hire Spagnola for DC before old Snuffy hirs the Jacksonville D line coach as our DC.
darkfalconcw
January 16th, 2012
9:57 am
Wow!!!! You have got to be kidding me!!!!! This fool had the number 32nd ranked offense in the league and these fools hire him. The season ticket holders need to boycott this nonsense by not renewing this season. They just when from Sh$t to more Sh$t & Authur says he wants a Superbowl championship for the city of Atlanta. IT’S ALL LIES!!!!!!
Mikey
January 16th, 2012
10:00 am
This isn’t a slam dunk but I give the Falcons management credit for knowing ten times more about NFL football than all the so-called fans (or haters) on this board combined. This team is the best it has ever been in the history of the franchise. It has been improving every year since the current management team has been in place. It may not be superbowl capable yet but it could happen soon. If the Giants go on to win the Superbowl, the Falcons will have faced the Superbowl champion in each of the first round games they have played. I for one am anxious to see the next year unfold and hope that the offense includes plays that give the players an opportunity to capitalize on their strengths.
FalconForever
January 16th, 2012
10:03 am
So, they hire the worst OC in the league in 2011??? That doesn’t make any sense. Essentially a coach swap with the Jags. Look for the Jags to improve and the Falcons to decline. Sad to say, but I think the team may be about to implode. You would think Blank and Dimitroff would “just say no” to such stupid hires.
FalconForever
January 16th, 2012
10:05 am
I was actually sad to see Mularkey leave but excited about the possibilities of a new hire. Then, Koetter. How do you pronounce that any way. When we are all cussing about it next year, we need to know how to pronounce his name. Is it pronounced like Kotter??
FalconForever
January 16th, 2012
10:07 am
Hey Mikey, spare us the lecture about being true fans. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. We can have dissenting opinions and still be fans. How many games did you go to last season?
GOOD BYE MR. SMITH
January 16th, 2012
10:08 am
Arthur, after much consideration, i have come to the conclusion, you are the problem! Please fire yourself and hire a real owner, who really wants to win a SB, and not just blow hot air up their fans *****! And Mikey, I believe last year was a step back…so, I believe this team is on the downslide AGAIN! We just hired the OC of the 32nd ranked ofeense in the league, pretty OFFENSIVE to me! We will be the laughing stock of the NFL, AGAIN!
harleyman
January 16th, 2012
10:09 am
Well, I slept on the decision and I believe………Hang on, I’ve got to go cry again.
GOOD BYE MR. SMITH
January 16th, 2012
10:16 am
Oh, and one more thing, Arthur, you should have made this a public hire, I know the fans could have done a better job, wanna open up the DC hire to the public now, it might be the only thing that saves your new stadium! NO MORE TAXES!!!
harleyman
January 16th, 2012
10:19 am
Cut the top off the tuna can they play in now and you will have an open air stadium.
PMC
January 16th, 2012
10:21 am
This is basically like a draft pick at this point. I have no idea whether or not it will be a great hire.
I hope he’s the perfect man for the job.
BamaFan
January 16th, 2012
10:21 am
I’m guessing Mr. Blank saw a Gene Chizik situation with this hire. Makes no sense. We hired the coach from the last ranked offense.
PMC
January 16th, 2012
10:23 am
Nobody knew much about Mike Smith either. I am still pretty confident about next year now that the focal point of the team is fixing the physicality of the lines of scrimmage.
JoFo
January 16th, 2012
10:25 am
REALLY??? What were you thinking Arthur, TD and Smitty? Falcons New OC is Dirk Koetter? What do FALCONS fans have to look forward to NOW???
Hey fellow FALCONS fans; maybe we can all agree on a NEW team to support!
Someone start a voting poll for a NEW team for us to follow! I am SO DISAPPOINTED and ANGRY!
Sid
January 16th, 2012
10:26 am
WS January 16th, 2012 8:30 am
Its is funny, Smith is still hung up on run first. This is outdated football today. The main team he will have to play two times each year is Saints.
***********************************************************
WS, you don’t see the big picture. We are not a team that can go out and play pass first and not set up the play action. We have no offensive line protection and cannot allow teams to just sit back and bull rush us every play. The Falcons in 2011 averaged 41 pass attempts avg per game, 28 avg rushing attempts per game.
You mention Bill Walsh………in 1981 (SB Champions) San Fancisco ranked 7th in passing (Joe Montana), 32 attempts avg per game, with a 62% completion avg. Also that year they ranked 19th in rushing with 35 rushing attempts per game averaging 121 yards per game. Balanced attack.
You mention the main team they have to face is the Saints twice a year?? So what you are really saying is we need better defense. It’s a 16 game season, they could lose to the Saints twice and still win the division, the NFC Championship, and the Super Bowl.
Mike Smith has brought the Falcons 4 years consecutive winning records, 3 in the playoffs. And all that off of possibly the worst team debacle ever. We are just a few players away from a perennial contender but acquistions like Ray Edwards (a knee jerk signing) aren’t the answer. Maybe you should vent on Dimitroff, not Smith.
Big Ron
January 16th, 2012
10:27 am
Ima give this Guy a chance Jacksonville is terrible no weapons at all here n Atlanta we have weapons so we will see im mainly concerned about tha defense cause that’s what will determine how far we go.
JoFo
January 16th, 2012
10:32 am
Is the FALCONS organization doing all of it’s shopping now (coaches and players) in the BARGAIN BASEMENT? Is this what we have to look forward to, also, for a new DC??
I guess this is a sample of the type of bargain players we can expect in the NFL draft and the free agent market! WOW! Unbelievable!
SawThat1nce
January 16th, 2012
10:32 am
The GM needs to aquire some good, big, strong, tough OLinemen, for this OC, and let him see what he can do.
The weak OLine was the #1 problem for the Falcons offense this year.
The weakest link must be fixed in 2012 by TD, in order for this team to progress.
Sid
January 16th, 2012
10:34 am
FalconForever January 16th, 2012 10:05 am
Koetter. How do you pronounce that any way. When we are all cussing about it next year, we need to know how to pronounce his name. Is it pronounced like Kotter??
**********************************************************
I don’t care how you pronounce it as long as we get results.
alpha9
January 16th, 2012
10:45 am
hey didn’t Nick Sabin want to hire this guy to replace Kirby Smart???
Legend
January 16th, 2012
10:47 am
Let’s all agree this is just a ploy to get another stadium, paid for by the consumers, somewhere in GA. The Falcons lack attitude. We praise everyone for simple things. Ryan is a top tier QB. Only in the minds of the organization. Stats don’t matter. When you can’t or refuse to throw the ball more than 20 yards, when the entire world (defense) knows you’re gonna run the ball, when 4th and 1 is the same as 4th and 10 and you fail at each attempt. This is a joke of a team. We need a loud, serious, intelligent leader. Mr. B. if this doesn’t work next season, GET RID OF EVERYONE and your advisors.
countryron86
January 16th, 2012
10:47 am
It does not matter who they hire to run the Offense. Until they get rid of Matt Ryan the Falcons will never go anywhere. They need to trade his ass to the Colts for the first round pick, then select Robert Griffin.
Legend
January 16th, 2012
10:57 am
BTW: I was at the game in New Orleans where the egg’d us on when it was 4th and 1. The crowd begged us to run the ball. They were all chanting run, run, run…. and guess what, the falcons ran and failed…. Such a sorry team.
Sonny
January 16th, 2012
10:59 am
11am news conf..where, what channel…live are just more BS..
Ducktown, GA
January 16th, 2012
11:01 am
Is it just me, or with the Giants’ win, is this going to be the 3rd straight playoff loss by the Falcons to the NFC team that gets hot and makes it to the Super Bowl?
2009= AZ Cardinals (and they should have won the SB)
2011- Green Bay= Nobody could stop them.
2012= Red hot NY Giants.
If this is the case, you can’t be sad about it, you just wish we could have won a game or two in the playoffs instead of opening with the hottest team. I know you got to “beat” these teams to prove that you are championship caliber, but at some point the Falcons have to get lucky and get a team that isn’t the hottest team in football during the playoffs.
JoFo
January 16th, 2012
11:01 am
REALLY??? Why is this hire a solid choice Arthur? Our lack of quality on the O-line, DE and secondary is obvious! Our pathetic and PREDICTABLE play calling and “dead-give-a-way” formations are old and repetitive news!
We need solid play calling, solid, talented and aggressive players that want to win and that can actually execute “good” plays (some hopefully screen plays) and coaches that are aggressive and want more than anything to win, play to win and not to worry about playing not to lose!!
Foothills
January 16th, 2012
11:14 am
Got an advertisement for the “Atlanta Falcon Express” electric train in my newspaper. Predictably, It also goes around in a circle.
Sid
January 16th, 2012
11:15 am
JoFo January 16th, 2012 10:25 am
Hey fellow FALCONS fans; maybe we can all agree on a NEW team to support!
**************************************************
Dear Sir, please do not call me your “fellow” Falcon fan, jump on any ol’ bandwagon you wish just like all those opprobrious folks who never even wore a sack on their head from the Bayou. Sure is quiet from the smelly ones.