Dirk Koetter managed to rise to the position of head coach of a National Football League team after spending several years as an offensive coordinator, although he initially started out in a role with a high school team. The two-time Big West Coach of the Year and Big West Championship winner is looking to replicate those levels of success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he started coaching in 2016.
the biography
Koetter was born Dirk Jeffrey Koetter to Barbaraet Jim Koetter on February 5, 1959 in Pocatello, Idaho where he was raised. He attended Highland High School where he played football and was the team’s star quarterback. After leaving high school, he enrolled at Idaho State University where he continued playing the game.
Koetter then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1981 but did not become a professional footballer. It’s unclear if he intentionally chose not to get into the NFL or if he wasn’t good enough to be picked by a team. Koetter, however, returned to school immediately and earned a master’s degree in sports administration in 1982, and the following year began his coaching career at his alma mater.
He served as head coach at Highland High School for two years before taking on the role of offensive coordinator at San Francisco State University in 1985. Dirk Koetter held that position for a year before becoming a journeyman , taking the position of offensive coordinator first at the University of El Paso from 1986 to 1988, then at the University of Missouri from 1989 to 1993. After Missouri, Koetter joined Boston College from 1994 to 1995 before move to the University of Oregon from 1996 to 1997.
In 1998 and for the first time since his coaching career began, Koetter who was big on accomplishment and experience at that time was named the head coach of Boise State University. He held the position from 1998 to 2000 before moving to Arizona State where, for the first time in a long time, he and his family found some stability holding the position from 2001 to 2006.
NFL coaching career
After leaving his position in Arizona, DirkKoetter took the big step to enter the NFL after accepting an offer to become the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He took the job in 2007 and his impact was felt immediately as the team set franchise records for total points scored and yards gained as the team went 11-5. .
Koetter spent five years with the Jaguars before moving to the Atlanta Falcons as offensive coordinator. After two years in Atlanta, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. He served as offensive coordinator for a year before finally getting the green light to become head coach after his boss was fired. In 2016, his first year as Buccaneers coach, the team went 9-7, barely missing the playoffs. The following campaign was poor, however, as his side fell to a 5-11 record.
Salary
The highest paid coaches in the NFL earn around $8 million a year. Although Dirk Koetter’s salary has not been disclosed to the public, the Buccaneers head coach, who agreed to a five-year contract when he took over in January 2016 following the dismissal of Lovie Smith, has certainly still a long way to go before he is able to pick up huge amounts to rank among coaches like Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick and Sean Payton.
Family and wife of Dirk Koetter
Dirk Koetter has been married for three decades. He was introduced to his wife, Kimberly Ann Koetter, by former Idaho State linebacker coach Marvin Lewis in the 1980s while coaching at Highland High School. Kim, as she is affectionately called by her peers, was an Idaho State volleyball player at the time. The two eventually exchanged vows in a small ceremony sometime in 1988, where their matchmakers’ daughter served as florist.
Together the couple have four children; two boys Derek and Davis, and two girls Kendra and Kaylee Koetter. Due to their work, the couple lived in different cities of the country. The three older children, however, live away from home now, leaving the couple with their youngest child, Davis, who will soon be heading to Portland State University to play as a quarterback.
Davis isn’t the only Koetter kid looking to sports for a career. His daughter, Kaylee, was a star volleyball player on the Tampa women’s volleyball team. Following a career-ending injury, Kaylee took over as the team’s assistant coach. She spent two years there before leaving the head coaching position at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The second Koetter kid making a living in and around sports is Derek, who currently serves as the University of Tampa’s assistant director of sports communications. The third is Kendra, who is currently a volleyball player at the University of North Carolina.