More data on Dirk Koetter’s love for an aggressive passing game

Dirk Koetter really loves throwing deep. Or, at least, attacking defenses a little further down the field than most. The man is ranked tenth among all current NFL play callers in the percentage of passes further than 15 yards down the field since 2006, per TJ Hernandez.

Now, those numbers are heavily depressed by 2013 when he had his quarterback throwing just 10.5% of his passes down the field. Which makes sense: his top receivers that season were Harry Douglas and Tony Gonzalez, as Julio Jones was injured for most of the season. Kind of hard to push the ball down the field in those circumstances. If we exclude 2013, Koetter jumps up to number six.

More significantly, he’s pushed the ball down the field more than any other coordinator except for Todd Haley the past two years. And that’s with Mike Evans as really his only deep threat, what with Vincent Jackson constantly being injured and most other receivers at their best within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage.

This year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Koetter and Jameis Winston at the top of the charts with the addition of DeSean Jackson and O.J. Howard.