Dirk Jeffrey Koetter ( ; born February 5, 1959) is an American former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach. He recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

. He was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 2016 to 2018 and was the head coach at Boise State from 1998 to 2000 and at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

from 2001 to 2006, compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

record of . Koetter also served as the offensive coordinator for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and the Buccaneers.

Early life

Born and raised in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...

, Koetter is the son of Jim Koetter, a

German-American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

football coach. A

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, Koetter graduated from Highland High School in 1977 and stayed in town to play

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

under new head coach Bud Hake. As a fifth-year senior in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, Koetter backed up Mike Machurek at quarterback; the Bengals went 12–1 and won the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in Division I-AA under second-year head coach Dave Kragthorpe. Koetter earned a bachelor's degree at ISU in 1981 and a master's in athletic administration the following year.

Coaching career

High school and college coaching

Koetter was the head coach at Highland High School for two seasons (1983–84) before becoming a full-time college assistant coach in 1985 as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

. After his time at San Francisco State, Koetter coached at

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...

(1986–88),

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

(1989–93),

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

(1994–95), and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

(1996–97). Koetter was the head coach for three seasons at

from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

through

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, then moved to Arizona State in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. His record with the Broncos was 26–10 (), with two

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

titles and two bowl victories and was named Big West Coach of the Year twice. At Arizona State, Koetter compiled a 40–34 () record, and four Bowl appearances in six years. Under Koetter, who was also the offensive play caller, the Sun Devils became known for a vertical passing attack. On November 26, 2006, ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

'' reported that Koetter was being terminated as Arizona State football coach. His final game was the 2006 Hawaii Bowl on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

, a 41–24 loss.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In 2007, Koetter accepted the position of offensive coordinator for the

of the

(NFL). In his first year in the NFL, Koetter had immediate success, setting Jaguars franchise records for total points scored and yards gained while helping the Jaguars to an 11–5 record. In his five seasons with the Jaguars, the team cumulatively ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards over that time span in addition to having the NFL's leading rusher in

Maurice Jones-Drew Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew (born March 23, 1985), often called "MJD", is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college foot ...

in 2010.

Atlanta Falcons (first stint)

On January 15, 2012, Koetter was hired as the offensive coordinator for the

. On January 2, 2013, the team signed him to a contract extension that ran through the 2014 season after they finished the 2012 season with a league-best 13–3 record and the top seed in the NFC. The Falcons appeared in the NFC Championship Game at the end of the season but lost 28–24 to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, who had made their first Super Bowl in 18 years, despite a 17–0 second quarter lead.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2015, Koetter was hired by the Falcons' division rival, the

, to become their offensive coordinator. On January 15, 2016, Koetter was promoted to head coach after the Buccaneers fired head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach. He has served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL) and the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has be ...

. After posting a 9–7 record in 2016 and barely missing the playoffs, the team had high expectations for the 2017 season. However, the Buccaneers failed to meet those expectations, slipping to a 5–11 record. On December 29, 2017, the team announced that Koetter would be retained for the 2018 season despite regressing in his second year as head coach. After another 5–11 season in 2018, Koetter was fired on December 30, 2018. He finished his tenure in Tampa Bay with a 19–29 (.396) record.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On January 8, 2019, Koetter was re-hired as the offensive coordinator for the Falcons. After not being retained under new head coach Arthur Smith following the 2020 season, Koetter announced his retirement from coaching on January 22, 2021.

Boise State University

On June 15, 2022, Koetter was hired to be an offensive analyst at Boise State University. On September 24, head coach Andy Avalos fired offensive coordinator Tim Plough and named Koetter the interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season.

Head coaching record

College

NFL

Personal life

Koetter married his wife, Kim, in 1988. They have four children: Kaylee, Kendra, Derek, and Davis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koetter, Dirk 1959 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches Boise State Broncos football coaches Boston College Eagles football coaches High school football coaches in Idaho Idaho State Bengals football players Idaho State University alumni Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches NFL offensive coordinators Oregon Ducks football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaches UTEP Miners football coaches Sportspeople from Pocatello, Idaho Coaches of American football from Idaho Players of American football from Idaho American people of German descent