Falcons’ next offensive coordinator: Jaguars’ Koetter (really?)
Dirk Koetter has spent the past five seasons as Jacksonville's offensive coordinator. (AP photo)
I’ve long made it a practice to not pre-judge coaches. We’ve seen enough examples of guys who can win the press conference but lose on the field, and vice versa.
That said, the Falcons’ hiring of Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator isn’t going to spark any block parties.
Koetter has been working for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who this season finished 32nd in total offense, 32nd in passing and 28th in scoring – which wouldn’t be so bad if the NFL had, say, 100 teams and not 32. The assumption in Flowery Branch must be that there’s only so much a coach can do with Blaine Gabbert.
Koetter has been a known candidate from the outset. The news of his hiring leaked out Sunday morning and later was confirmed by the Falcons, although Koetter said he was under instruction from the team not to comment.
The second sentence of Koetter’s bio in the Jacksonville media guide begins, “Known for his expertise of the passing offense …” In his first season as Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator in 2007, the Jaguars finished seventh in total offense, 17th in passing and sixth in scoring. That also was Mike Smith’s last season in Jacksonville, before he was hired as Falcons’ head coach.
But this is what has happened to the Jaguars’ offense since:
• 2008: 20th total offense (15th passing), 24th scoring.
• 2009: 18th total offense (19th passing), 24th scoring.
• 2010: 15th total offense (27th passing), 18th scoring.
• 2011: 32nd total offense (32nd passing), 28th scoring.
The Jaguars have had some obvious personnel deficiencies. The organization was a mess and head coach Jack Del Rio clearly had lost his effectiveness. But it’s safe to conclude Koetter was not viewed as anybody’s “hot” candidate.
Two factors may have played into this hiring: 1) Smith wanted somebody he is comfortable with, and in this case that’s somebody he has worked with; 2) The Falcons’ third straight immediate playoff exit has, for the first time, put some heat on Smith, and that perceived uncertainty sometimes affects a team’s ability to hire a high-profile candidate.
That said, Koetter had a solid offensive reputation when he was Arizona State’s head coach, and was viewed by some as one of the rising coaches early on at Jacksonville. As recently as July, an NFL.com blog on Koetter included this: “The Jaguars’ offensive coordinator is on the cusp of taking that next step [in coaching]. If he can continue to get what he has gotten out of Jacksonville’s offense without an abundance of talent, especially if he manages to get Blaine Gabbert ready to play despite this lockout, then a move up is imminent.”
It’s ironic that Koetter should come from the organization that just hired the Falcons’ recently maligned offensive coordinator, Mike Mularkey, as head coach. Mularkey might have been fired even if he had not gotten the Jacksonville job, given the predictability of the Falcons’ offense and the widely held belief that he did not fully utilize the weapons on the roster.
That’s on Koetter’s shoulders now. But it will be at least September before anybody is too excited.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,029 comments Add your comment
JP
January 15th, 2012
3:53 pm
Brady and Smith..both made significant plays when the pocket collapse….when they have time…you also witness them hit the receiver in stride for YAC…something again Ryan did not do well in practice..,.(I have been to many)…thanks again for making my point…!!!
Dirty Boyd
January 15th, 2012
3:53 pm
Can you imagine Matt Ryan doing what even Alex Smith did yesterday?
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
3:53 pm
CHOKE…………..Hahahah right……………Flacco is showing how to close a win in the playoffs……………by leaving 3 min to go and only getting a FG? That was a pathetic last drive. He couldn’t make a PASS when it was needed.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
3:54 pm
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
3:49 pm
Gatorzone
HOW the F do you think YATES is better than RYAN? he has played 6 games and he didn’t get his team to the playoffs. A few other QBs did that.
YDS CMP% TD INT RAT
949 61.2 3 3 80.7
_______________________________________
I do believe he EMBARRASSED CHOKE in his 1st start.
HA HA HA
Rankin Smith
January 15th, 2012
3:56 pm
Miss me yet?
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
3:56 pm
Gatorzone…man if I could only count how many times I’ve seen Brady, or Manning(both), or Rivers, or Favre slide short of a first down. But I guess none of them are tough either. Guess they are terrible for not wanting to get beaten to death by someone who outweighs them by about 50 lbs running full speed at them. But then on the other hand, say he takes the hit and fumbles the ball to the defense, thenyou’d say, “Yeah our qb is one tough SOB, too bad he can’t hold onto the ball,” right?
JP
January 15th, 2012
3:56 pm
gatorzone…thanks, not sure what Falcon QB…ohhh YEAH has seen…!!
Rankin Smith
January 15th, 2012
3:57 pm
June Jones don’t look so bad now.
Jay Dubu
January 15th, 2012
3:58 pm
D Man, the comparison for the Falcons is not their 1st 30 years, but the other 31 teams in the league for the current year.
If the goal is to be a better francise today than it was the first 30 years, then I can see why you’re content. I didn’t hear the Falcons’ press conference, I just read excerpts online, but I don’t recall reading that since the Falcons have done better than the 1st 30 years, this season’s performence was ok.
If I missed that/those comment(s), please let me know where I can find them.
AJ
January 15th, 2012
3:58 pm
The Falcons just took a few steps in the wrong direction, imo. This decision will prove to be spotlight on Ryan, Smith and Dimitroff for the 2012 season. If they dont make the playoffs or go 1 and out in the playoffs (again) fans will be screaming for wholesale changes. Hope it works out but I am completely underwhelmed at the moment.
Falcon James
January 15th, 2012
3:59 pm
This is the best hire we have seen in a long time. All the “real” falcon fan need to show they support because it don’t gets no better than this
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
3:59 pm
The Falcons qb I saw, I believe, was the same one who got lit up for 5 sacks and Lord only knows how many more hits he took from the Bears the first game of the season, took even more hits as the year went on, even though the sacks actually did decline, had his leg bent almost in half by his own lineman, and missed all of what? Two plays all season? But yeah you’re right, he’s quite the pansy out there
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
3:59 pm
PLAYOFF UPDATE TOTAL:
Flacco 5
CHOKE………….. A Big GOOSE EGG………………..
HA HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:00 pm
Flacco is 1 game away from the Superbowl
CHOKE is flushing the toilet bowl
HA HA HA
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:00 pm
Choke and Gatorzone………T J Yeats just completing that deep pass Ryan can’t make. Wait Yates completed it to the OTHER F..ing team. YATES is better than RYAN for sure.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:02 pm
0-3 In the playoffs…………………
All you need to know about CHOKE………………
HA HA HA
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:02 pm
ohhh YEAH, I forgot about the Bears game…my bad…!!
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
4:02 pm
Choke, does this mean you’ll be jumping on the Tom Brady wagon when they get murdered in Foxborough next weekend? Just wondering
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:03 pm
CHOKE…………I am sure the Falcons D is just like the Ravens and Flacco doesn’t get a few wins a season because of the D.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:03 pm
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:00 pm
Choke and Gatorzone………T J Yeats just completing that deep pass Ryan can’t make. Wait Yates completed it to the OTHER F..ing team. YATES is better than RYAN for sure.
_____________________________________________
One big difference:
Yates is in this position because he won a PLAYOFF game and earned the right to make the pass………….
HA HA HA
DawgNole
January 15th, 2012
4:04 pm
john13
January 15th, 2012
3:51 pm
“Stay the course. In due time the Falcons will ascend to the next level.”
_____________________________
In due time???!!! You’re kidding, right? They’ve had 46 years! How the hell long do we have to give them? Dope.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:05 pm
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
4:02 pm
Choke, does this mean you’ll be jumping on the Tom Brady wagon when they get murdered in Foxborough next weekend? Just wondering
___________________________________________
BOO HOO HOO
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
4:05 pm
Don’t worry 5150, I tried to ask Choke earlier how many Super Bowls Flacco had won, and how a playoff win meant more than a regular season win if your team doesnt win the whole thing. He refused to comment, probably because he knew how stupid he would have sounded if he tried to argue differently. Oh well. We let him have his fun anyway
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:06 pm
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:03 pm
CHOKE…………I am sure the Falcons D is just like the Ravens and Flacco doesn’t get a few wins a season because of the D.
___________________________________
Double BOO HOO HOO
Admiral Obvious
January 15th, 2012
4:06 pm
NOT IMPRESSED……….hopefully he comes cheap which gives them extra money to hire a decent defensive coordinator
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:06 pm
ohhh YEAH…see the recent post by 5150…Yates did throw the INT which essentially loss the game for the Texans…no elite QB play on that drive…but on the prior drive..Flacco made enough plays to get a field goal..which put the lead to 7 points…which forced the Texans hand to need 7….and thus throw deep for the INT….however, if the Texans gets the ball back…the Texans can win with elite QB play…just watch and learn….
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:07 pm
CHOKE no YATES didn’t EARN that right. The OTHER Texan QBs did that. Yates ended up being the QB after they were in position for the playoffs.
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
4:09 pm
JP, trust me, I have quite the understanding of how the game works. Again, I never said Ryan was the best, I never said Flacco was bad. The problem you and I have is that you seem to think I’m defending Ryan like he is Bart Starr and I’m not. It’s just that I see the potential he has, and if it turns out next year that I’m wrong, and he fails in a new system, I’ll be glad to admit I was wrong, but for now, I’m on his side.
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
4:10 pm
Hey Choke….Dilfer 1-0, Mike Vick, 0-0. That’s the Super Bowl record comparison, so I guess by your definition Dilfer is better than Vick…right?
BOO HOO
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:10 pm
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:07 pm
CHOKE no YATES didn’t EARN that right. The OTHER Texan QBs did that. Yates ended up being the QB after they were in position for the playoffs.
_________________________________________
Want some WHINE with that CHEESE?
HA HA HA
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:11 pm
T J Yates is ELITE for sure with that last pass. Hell he just did his best A. MURRAY impression.
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:12 pm
Flacco in the AFC Championship…Wow….!!!
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:12 pm
FLACCO vs CHOKE UPDATE:
Road playoff wins….Flacco 4 CHOKE Zero
Home playoff wins…Flacco 1 CHOKE Zero
Championship Games…Flacco 2 CHOKE Zero
HA HA HA
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:14 pm
ohhh YEAH…you are correct again….if Ryan does not improve in the new system he must go…after all…who saw this version of Alex Smith coming…..
Manny
January 15th, 2012
4:15 pm
OhhhhYeah-
The reason why you saw Tom Brady not getting hit was because the ball came out much faster than Matt Ryan’s. Tom Brady’s ball was come in 2 seconds.
And where were you when the Falcons had a truly terrible, undersized line that relied on the cut-blocking scheme? Remember then? It was when the experts were talking about how bad the O-line was with the Falcons.
Of course, that was when the Falcons had Mike Vick as their quarterback and many of you told him to win anyway. I’m telling you: there were times when the defender reached Mike Vick at the same time as the football! It was truly a terrible line! THIS line, while not very good, was so much better than THAT line.
But the main difference between Matt Ryan and Tom Brady isn’t the line. It’s the TIME! The time is takes for the ball to get out is Tom Brady’s hand is much quicker than with Matt Ryan’s.
Manny
January 15th, 2012
4:16 pm
Out, not come. (weird)
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:18 pm
Manny
January 15th, 2012
4:15 pm
OhhhhYeah-
The reason why you saw Tom Brady not getting hit was because the ball came out much faster than Matt Ryan’s. Tom Brady’s ball was come in 2 seconds.
And where were you when the Falcons had a truly terrible, undersized line that relied on the cut-blocking scheme? Remember then? It was when the experts were talking about how bad the O-line was with the Falcons.
Of course, that was when the Falcons had Mike Vick as their quarterback and many of you told him to win anyway. I’m telling you: there were times when the defender reached Mike Vick at the same time as the football! It was truly a terrible line! THIS line, while not very good, was so much better than THAT line.
But the main difference between Matt Ryan and Tom Brady isn’t the line. It’s the TIME! The time is takes for the ball to get out is Tom Brady’s hand is much quicker than with Matt Ryan’s.
_______________________________________________
Let the SPIN EXCUSE GAMES begin………………..
HA HA HA
DawgNole
January 15th, 2012
4:19 pm
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:06 pm
ohhh YEAH…see the recent post by 5150…Yates did throw the INT which essentially loss the game for the Texans…no elite QB play on that drive…but on the prior drive..Flacco made enough plays to get a field goal..which put the lead to 7 points…which forced the Texans hand to need 7….and thus throw deep for the INT….however, if the Texans gets the ball back…the Texans can win with elite QB play…just watch and learn….
________________________
“Flacco made enough plays to get a field goal..which put the lead to 7 points…which forced the Texans hand to need 7.”
You might want to watch and learn yourself, JP. The Texans already needed the 7 (before the FG) since they were behind by 4. DUH!
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:20 pm
ohhh YEAH…we have to look for Ryan’s replacement now…he’s evidenced enough reasonable doubt that he might not be the franchise guy we all wanted him to be..Hence, if he doesn’t pan out next year, then hopefully our next candidate is on the sideline waiting……if Ryan does prove to be the overall 3rd pick in the draft some desired him to be…then we trade the guy in waiting if the trade is worth anything…No emotional support for Ryan…just emotional support for wining…!!!!
Boise Dawg
January 15th, 2012
4:21 pm
Based on what I know.. Koetter is a great offensive mind. He actually helped groom Chris Petersen when they were both assistants at Oregon. He is also supposedly the mastermind behind the offense that Boise State currently runs… he installed it when he was head coach there up until 2001 and then Petersen took over when Koetter left to go to Arizona St.
I thought I had read Koetter was going to Alabama, which might have been a better fit for him. He has had more success in college as a coordinator than what he has shown in the pros.
kurula
January 15th, 2012
4:24 pm
i feel like sometimes when a coordinator is promoted to head coach, he does what would be the equivalent of me and my friends saying ”hey, we should open a bar! how hard could it be?”
5150 UOAD
January 15th, 2012
4:24 pm
Koetter must think he has the weapons in Atlanta to run his Scheme. he must think RYAN is good enough to make it happen for the Falcons.
JP
January 15th, 2012
4:24 pm
DawgNole…you are correct….guess my point was doubly applicable as opposed to singularly…thanks for falling for the set up…I mean support…thanks for the support…
Gatorzone
January 15th, 2012
4:28 pm
Watch Yates in 4 years and then you can compare him to Ryan… To me he looks better
ohhhhYEAH
January 15th, 2012
4:28 pm
Manny
Completely agree, BUT, how often did our oh so inept OC call for the quick slant, or the quick screen to the receiver even? Not very many, if ever.
JP
If Ryan doesn’t work out this year, I wouldn’t mind finging a way to get Barkley in the ‘13 draft. Mark my words, he WILL be the better pro between him and Luck, hands down
nuffsaid
January 15th, 2012
4:30 pm
This has to be the most “assinine” hire in Falcon history!! Why in the hell do we need another loser?
Arthur Blank, T.D. must have their collective heads up each others arses!!
rivercard
January 15th, 2012
4:30 pm
Boise Dawg- I don’t know about about the rest, but Peterson didn’t take over Hawkins did.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
January 15th, 2012
4:30 pm
Time for Arthur to cut his losses.
He took winning in the playoffs for granted, and now he has to deal with the reality of the tough road to winning in the playoffs.
Vick made it look too easy for these losers who wanted a traditional (code word) quarterback. They got their wish and now it has been 8 years since the last taste of going deep in the playoffs.
Now they are such an embarrassment that the cream of the crop coaches don’t want to become a part of this mess.
The new coordinator was the only guy that wanted the job.
HA HA HA
The Falconator
January 15th, 2012
4:31 pm
I’m totally underwhelmed with the idea of Koetter. Take a look at the flood of ill will on this blog this afternoon while PLAYOFF games are on the tube. Blank, TD and Smitty seem clueless as to the anger and desperation rampant in the fan base. Also not happy with the way Falcons brass are managing communications. I see no upside at all to this move for reasons others have amply demonstrated. Maybe JAX will buy back a package of Smith, Koetter and whatever lame DC choice is announced once next season’s sure to be train wreck is in the books. And no, I’m not willing to give them any benefit of the doubt. I’ve been this team almost since the beginning and my patience has run out.
Boise Dawg
January 15th, 2012
4:32 pm
Rivercard… Hawkins took over as head coach. Petersen was hired as OC to run Koetters offense since he was familiar with it from their days together at Oregon.