The Atlanta Falcons hired two coaches in a single swoop on Tuesday, officially tapping Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator and Mike Mularkey as tight ends coach.
This announcement has a familiar and perhaps surreal ring, since both Koetter (2012-14) and Mularkey (2008-11) previously directed the Falcons offense during Matt Ryan's formative NFL years.
Charting Koetter's time in Atlanta, the Falcons had one winning season (falling in the 2012 NFC title game), two losing campaigns and the offense never ranked higher than seventh in per-game scoring.
On the plus side, Ryan averaged 4,600-plus yards passing and 29 touchdowns during this three-year span.
Koetter, who was recently fired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coach (2016-18), will begin serving his fourth tour-of-duty as an NFL offensive coordinator since 2007.
Counting the Falcons twice, Koetter also developed high-octane passing attacks in Tampa Bay (2015) and Jacksonville (2007-11).
Darrell Bevell, who worked with head coach Dan Quinn during the Seahawks days, had been speculated as the Falcons' second choice for the O-coordinator slot.
On New Year's Eve, head coach Dan Quinn fired all three coordinators (Steve Sarkisian, Marquand Manuel, Keith Armstrong) and subsequently named himself as D-coordinator.
This leaves just one more major spot to fill (special teams coordinator).
The Falcons (7-9 this season) will likely have the 14th overall pick in the NFL draft.
