Pocatello native Dirk Koetter, who played at Highland and Idaho State and started his coaching career at Highland before going on to become an NFL head coach, announced his retirement in a Facebook post on Thursday.

“After 39 season(s) of coaching football, it’s time to move on to the next phase of the life,” Koetter wrote in the post. “From 1982 at Highland High to through the 2020 season with the Atlanta Falcons, it’s been nothing but football year round with not nearly enough time for anything else, especially family.”

The announcement came a day after Koetter was not retained as the offensive coordinator of the Falcons by new head coach Arthur Smith.

Koetter was a quarterback for Highland and Idaho State before beginning his coaching career as Highland’s head coach in 1983.

After two years at Highland, he spent over a decade as an offensive coordinator in college, receiving his first college head coaching job at Boise State in 1998 and winning two Big West Conference titles in three years with the Broncos before moving on to Arizona State.

The Sun Devils went to four bowls in six years under Koetter, but he made the jump to the NFL in 2007 as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He later served as the OC for the Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being elevated to head coach for the Buccaneers in early 2016.

Koetter coached Tampa Bay for three seasons, with an overall record of 19-29. He was fired in late 2018 and, after contemplating retirement at that time, returned to the Falcons for two more seasons as the offensive coordinator.