Point/Counter-Point: Was Dirk Koetter the Right Hire?

(Originally Published on the Grits Blitz Blog. Click here for the Pro-Koetter view)

I'm all for change, and goodness knows the Falcons anemic offense needed to be changed.  But going from Mike Mularkey to Dirk Koetter is like changing your wall color from white to beige.  The Falcons need a shake-up on offense, and I honestly don't think Koetter is the one who can do it.

His track record alone should have sent up an entire fabric store's worth of red flags to the Falcons front office, but Mike Smith I'm sure had a lot to do with calming any fears that they might have had.  He likes his old buddies around him, and so far that formula hasn't worked all too well.  But enough conjecture, let's look at some facts.

The trio of Nolan, Smith & Koetter needs to succeed in 2012

 Fact 1 - Koetter was in Jacksonville for five years as offensive coordinator prior to being hired by Atlanta.  During that five year span, the Jaguars made the playoffs (ready?...) once.  And that was in 2007, Koetter's first year with the team when he basically used the players and schemes that he had inherited.  Since 2007 the Jaguars didn't even manage a winning record.

Fact 2 - During Koetter's five years with the Jaguars they went from 7th in total offense in 2007, to 29th in 2011, slipping from season to season.  Not exactly the kind of trend that makes your glands salivate if you are a quarterback, running back or wide receiver.  His reputation of the "vertical passing attack" was basically non-existent, as the Jaguars leaned heavy and often on running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew (sound like a familiar formula?)

Fact 3 - Prior to his stint as the Jaguars offensive coordinator, Koetter was head coach at Arizona State University.  During his six seasons at ASU, he compiled a mere 40-34 record in what was a fairly weak Pac-10 at that time.  In addition to struggling to keep the Sun Devils barely over .500 while he was head coach, he held a 1–11 record against top 10 teams, and was 2–19 against ranked teams. 

Fact 4 - When Koetter took over the offense in Jacksonville, quarterback David Garrard looked like he was well on his way to becoming the next franchise quarterback for the Jaguars.  But under Koetter's tutelage, Garrard went from a record breaking year in 2007 to being completely out of football by the 2011 season. Is this who we want bringing Matt Ryan through the prime of his career?

No, I think it's clear that the Falcons have once again failed to see the forest for the trees.  There were some big names available, and others who probably would have wanted to come join the Falcons.  Instead, we basically just made a one-for-one trade with the Jaguars.  Fortune favors the bold.  The Falcons were less than bold with this hire, and it may end up costing some people their jobs by the end of next season.  I only hope that Dirk Koetter is on that list.