With general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith now in place, several of the remaining coaches for the Atlanta Falcons learned their fate on Wednesday.
Among the coaches not kept by the new regime was offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. Koetter was an uninspired choice to replace the inexperienced Steve Sarkisian.
Koetter had served as offensive coordinator with the Falcons from 2012 through 2014. The highlight of that stint was a 28-24 loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Koetter was hired by the Buccaneers as the offensive coordinator in 2015 before taking the head coach job in 2016. He was fired on December 30th, 2018 after consecutive 5-11 seasons and was hired a week later by the Falcons to run the offense.
Koetter took over an offense that ranked sixth in total offense, but just 10th in scoring offense in 2018.
In 2019, the Falcons moved up to fifth in total offense, but fell further to 13 in scoring offense. The 2020 season saw the Falcons ranked 18th in total offense and 16th in scoring offense.
The Falcons offense mirrored general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s strategy of investing heavily in the quarterback and wide receiver. The Falcons rushing offense finished 27th and 30th in 2020 and 2019 respectively.
Arthur Smith comes to Atlanta as the former offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. One of his biggest jobs will be to revive a running game that has been abandoned by the previous administration.
