Why did Dirk Koetter get a second chance?

I’ve been thinking a lot about Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter lately. In fact, the other night, I dreamt that I saw him on the street and just kept yelling, “Why?! Why won’t you use 3 wide receivers at once?!” But my unhealthy subconscious aside, the reality that we’re stuck with Dirk for another year has me searching for answers.

I remember the first time I heard Koetter’s name associated with the Falcons. We were moving on from Mike Mularkey, who had just signed with the Jaguars to replace Koetter. Koetter enjoyed some success in Jacksonville but was best known for the nasty passing attack he orchestrated as the head coach at Arizona State University during the early and mid 2000s. The Falcons zeroed in Koetter because they were ready to bolster a lackluster passing attack. In short, he was going to fix their passing game. But we all know how that worked out.

The title of this article is a bit misleading. Because truth be told, this isn’t Koetter’s second chance. It’s not even his third or fourth chance. His second stint as the Falcons OC has actually been worse than the first. And his anachronistic approach is downright maddening. But for some reason — be it continuity, fear of change, or blind faith — the Falcons brass decided to let him run it back in 2020.

But why? Why specifically did they give him another chance? I desperately need someone to explain their logic to me. And sure, the decision to retain Koetter in 2020 was made some time ago, but it’s still not sitting right. And while I understand that I’m not owed an explanation, as someone who invests considerable time and energy in this team every year, I’d sure appreciate one.

So what say you, Falcoholics? Setting aside all the coach speak and Thomas Dimitroff’s winding, circular explanations, what’s really going on here?