After two years of frustrating and inconsistent offensive production, the Falcons chose to move on from Steve Sarkisian and hire former coordinator Dirk Koetter to take over play-calling duties again in 2019.
Every offensive coordinator comes with a distinct way of doing things and Koetter is no different. Fourth-year tight end Austin Hooper wasn’t around the last time Koetter was calling the plays, so he has some things to learn, along with the team’s other receivers not named Julio Jones.
Speaking earlier this week with reporters, Hooper talked about the transition from a depth-based route-running kind of system to a steps-based system, per the team’s official website,
“It’s just something new that I haven’t done before, so I’ve just got to work with Matt, and he’s been awesome. . . It might not sound like a big difference. . . But on certain routes, if you have one foot up and you get to the top (of the route) and you realize, ‘Oh, I have to take another two (steps) before I turn,’ and the ball is already in the air two steps ago. It’s just one of those things you have to keep working on.”
Helping Hooper make the transition will be tight ends coach Mike Mularkey and veteran Logan Paulsen, an extension of the staff on the field.
