National Football League

Koetter signs extension with Falcons

Published Jan. 2, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

One of the NFL’s hottest head coaching candidates has decided to stay put.

The Atlanta Falcons have signed offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to a contract extension that will keep him off the market until the 2014 offseason, as reported earlier by FOXSports.com.

Atlanta’s offensive talent provided impetus for Koetter to stick with the Falcons. The chance to continue working with quarterback Matt Ryan and other weapons like wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones should continue to bolster Koetter’s head-coaching stock for the future.

Atlanta finished the season with a franchise-record average of 281.8 passing yards a game as the Falcons went 13-3 to secure the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed.

Koetter made the decision after meeting Tuesday with Kansas City Chiefs management about the chance to replace the fired Romeo Crennel. The Chiefs also interviewed special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong, a source told FOXSports.com.

Armstrong met Tuesday night with Chicago about their head-coaching vacancy as well, a source told FOXSports.com.

As first reported Monday by FOXSports.com, Koetter also was set to interview with Philadelphia and Cleveland. Koetter, 53, interviewed with the Denver Broncos last January before they hired John Fox.

Koetter previously served as a college head coach at Boise State (1998-2000) and Arizona State (2001-06).

Hired by Atlanta in the 2012 offseason following five years as Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator, Koetter helped Ryan post career highs in yardage (4,719), touchdowns (32) and completion percentage (68.6).