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
Michael M.
January 15th, 2012
4:11 pm
new faces and the same ole places………………if you get my drift about the birds
Jim Tavegia
January 15th, 2012
4:12 pm
That 4th down call vs Nawlens started the tumble downward. Needed that 3rd receiver for the run.
Not Impressed
January 15th, 2012
4:13 pm
Hopefully the Falcons are saving up to make a splash on defense
New Age Offense
January 15th, 2012
4:13 pm
D I believe we are worried about the new age offenses at the top of the food chain…New Orleans and Green Bay are going to be very good for years to come….Even Forty niners great defense could not stop New Orleans the who game… Unless you get exception smart talented defensive players the Falcons will struggle getting out of the first round of the playoffs for years to come….
big t
January 15th, 2012
4:14 pm
hey hes got to be better than run to left run to right then pass mularky /hey breeze looked like a scared little man without 7 seconds to throw /give matt some credit he only has 1.5 seconds to throw the ball
rivercard
January 15th, 2012
4:15 pm
Kimberly- If you think this team has good chemistry then we are watching different teams and I don’t know what any of the aforementioned people have done to earn being called great.
Pulling the non native and true fan card. Now that really is being a jerk or dirtbag if you prefer.
New Age Offense
January 15th, 2012
4:16 pm
Those 4th down calls were so predictable…. The Falcons gave up clues and the defensive teams jump on it…If I know what you are going to I will have a better chance at stopping you,,,,Also if this OC can get the offense to score touchdowns instead of Field Goals in the red zone.. they will win more games…
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:17 pm
At least the Falcons didn’t rush into anything. LOL
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:18 pm
Better hurry and grab Marion Campbell for defense before someone grabs him up.
KQuark
January 15th, 2012
4:20 pm
I’ll give the guy a chance but I hate crony hires like this. He has no proven record in the NFL so any success with be a surprise. If the Falcons are not better next year, meaning they need to at least win a playoff game then Smith needs to be fired.
JSS
January 15th, 2012
4:20 pm
Nothing like a person whose team laid the the biggest egg since Mesozoic age trying to crack on somebody’s team that actually showed up for a playoff game… No Saints fan, but you guys are grasping for any straw available at a Stewart Avenue 7-11…
Kyle
January 15th, 2012
4:21 pm
This is exciting to know. I guess they will name the Stone Mountain High School DC next week instead of Spags and we will see what Arthur says then about how this was good and in the fans best interest….yank, yank.
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:23 pm
I was really hoping for Dan Henning who tried to turn Bartkowski into a rollout and run QB, gimp knees and all.
big t
January 15th, 2012
4:24 pm
what atlanta needs is some ray lewis types on the team to hold the players accountable an to keep a fire under them
done
January 15th, 2012
4:25 pm
saints fans are too busy shooting fans of other teams
New Age Offense
January 15th, 2012
4:26 pm
So we will not see anymore political comments on a sport blog, I blame President Obama for the Falcon woes….O.K. let talk football…. I like the 49ers, tough minded physical team that bring the hammer…..
Diamond Dave
January 15th, 2012
4:26 pm
Bozee bozee bop….di dee bop…
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:26 pm
Who is John Galt?
big t
January 15th, 2012
4:26 pm
hey we cannot loss if smith does not open up hes next either way we win
JSS
January 15th, 2012
4:27 pm
Laughing at Harleyman… Ah, 25 degrees in the freezing rain at old Fulton County Stadium and the genius of Dan Henning… Thanks for making me laugh!
AngryBird
January 15th, 2012
4:28 pm
I’m sooo angry with the FALCONS choice . We finally had an opportunity to really move the team forward . We just took 20 steps back into mediocrity! What’s next Del Rio. UGH
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:29 pm
Lynn Cain was none to happy about it either.
big t
January 15th, 2012
4:31 pm
look guys at least we are not in last place like we where for 30 years losen up its going to be alright after i get through crying again
Michael M.
January 15th, 2012
4:31 pm
Being a fan………..I can say I am getting disgusted to say the least
Uh oh
January 15th, 2012
4:32 pm
Sitting in cold rain may be future if we get outdoor stadium… And there are still fans left.
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:32 pm
And to think all the tears were gone after 40 years Big T
AngryBird
January 15th, 2012
4:33 pm
We have really shown we’re a second tier Team by our choices in Coach’s as well as players! WTH
Leeman B
January 15th, 2012
4:33 pm
Yawn.
Glad that boring O may have an opportunity to get even less creative.
JSS
January 15th, 2012
4:34 pm
Time to hit the Mute button
big t
January 15th, 2012
4:35 pm
hey lets all pitch in an buy the team ive got 10 bucks
Michael M.
January 15th, 2012
4:36 pm
Rise Up my asx !
harleyman
January 15th, 2012
4:37 pm
Agree JSS. I guess I’ll sleep on it and hopefully have some constructive critism tomorrow. Time to go watch the other game.
The Real Falcon
January 15th, 2012
4:37 pm
fired at asu and a failure at Jax
JSS
January 15th, 2012
4:37 pm
The only place I’ll sit in cold rain is Edmonton Alberta or Lambeau Field… It won’t be in Arthur’s State subsidized pleasure place!
B'Red
January 15th, 2012
4:39 pm
Here we go, michael Turner up the middle for a two yard loss..way to go dirtybirds.
Leeman B
January 15th, 2012
4:40 pm
Cutting Ryan in favor of Redman next?
Michael M.
January 15th, 2012
4:43 pm
Packers probably start out slow then hit second gear and blow away the Giants………. I said it, now lets see what happens !
RUDEDAWG
January 15th, 2012
4:45 pm
The more I think about this crap,the more pissed I get!Now are we supposed to get behind this BS? What another slap in the face.I think I wanna fist fight the Falcons front office!
Confused Season ticket holder
January 15th, 2012
4:46 pm
Arthur please hire a big name DC. Enough of this swapping with Jacksonville bull crap!
Oblama
January 15th, 2012
4:46 pm
This is a friggin yard sale….. back up the truck. Beep, beep, beep, beep
Michael M.
January 15th, 2012
4:48 pm
They dont care about us fans its about their paychecks and keeping them coming in and that is all they worried with , period !
New Age Offense
January 15th, 2012
4:48 pm
I hope we get an aggressive DC, that is the only way to compete in this new age offense…..I want an aggressive defense I am tired of seeing the bend and break defense!!!! RISE UP FALCONS!
north ga falcon
January 15th, 2012
4:48 pm
The jags have let their teams talent pool go downhill since this guys 1st year as O.C. The only good offensive player they have is jones-drew. I would`nt hit the panic button just yet. We do need a great D.C. to polish this defense up though…… We have a good L.B. group and with a couple good free agent hires on the d-line, they will be fine. Go get Spags!!!!!!
tdawgg37
January 15th, 2012
4:49 pm
You don’t build a winning team with a loser. The Jag’s offense was ranked last in the NFL!!! Give hoim a chance….do we have a choice? Atlanta will forever be mediocre. Not one team in Atlanta is willing to invest in good coaches or allstar players.
Done
January 15th, 2012
4:49 pm
Same plodding offense. Run, Run. Pass, Punt. MJD did so well because Jax was always losing and the opponents weren’t too concerned with the run. Awful hire, no foresight or imagination. May as well get the Jax DC and be done with the transformation.
AngryBird
January 15th, 2012
4:53 pm
This Totally reminds me of that Petrino debacle but we’ll be stuck with this guy at least a year or two .
Samuel
January 15th, 2012
4:55 pm
I’m not going to be judgemental, I haven’t seen what he’s going to bring to the table yet. I’m not that interested in a real name guys, just a coach that can get the most out of the Falcons offensive players, especially Matt Ryan. I hope when the Falcons play their first game next season, we as fans can see he knows how to utilize all his weapons. Also you can imediately say- this offense has change in a good way.
RUDEDAWG
January 15th, 2012
4:58 pm
What a freeggin shame!Im done with these clowns!Born an Bred in Atlanta,and I cant even root for my home team!What a joke!
SirReal
January 15th, 2012
4:59 pm
I was a bit thrown off by the hire initially…BUT after thinking more about it I think it’ll be alright. We have a lot of talent on the offensive side and honestly if we havent seen what he can do with our guys, it’s hard to judge. Like Pat wrote here, Smith knows this was a very important hire. I think it may just work out and then we’d be saying how great a call it was. I wanted Billick. Well he probably didnt want us and wants a HC job. They really didnt have time to wait on Clements. Schottenheimer was a no go as well. It may just work out guys. Let’s just see what happens. We may be pleasantly surprised.
rivercard
January 15th, 2012
5:02 pm
Sir Real- We may be and I hope we will be. But it is only hope, as there is no evidence to lead one to think this will work.