The trend continues: college develops assistants, and the NFL swoops in. This time, it’s Davis Koetter. After one season at South Carolina as an assistant quarterbacks coach and analyst under Shane Beamer, the son of longtime NFL coach Dirk Koetter, is heading to where he belongs

According to sources, the Bengals are expected to hire Davis Koetter as their new wide receivers coach. South Carolina wasn’t his only SEC stop, though. Before joining Shane Beamer’s staff, Koetter spent two seasons at Texas (2023–2024) under Steve Sarkisian. He started as a graduate assistant and later worked as an offensive analyst, spending most of his time with the tight ends.

During his tenure at Texas, Koetter started mainly with the quarterbacks, helping in a room that featured Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. By 2024, he had earned a promotion to an analyst role and shifted his focus to the tight ends. Texas won the Big 12 Championship and made its first College Football Playoff appearance in 2023. After the 2024 season wrapped up, Koetter moved on to join Shane Beamer’s staff at South Carolina.

With the Gamecocks, he stayed hands-on with the offense and worked closely with LaNorris Sellers. He was part of a revamped offensive staff that included Dowell Loggains, who was later replaced by Kendal Briles ahead of the 2026 season. That experience only added to his growing résumé.

Now, Cincinnati is bringing him in to help boost the offensive coaching staff for 2026. Koetter will step into a wide receivers room headlined by one of the NFL’s most dangerous duos in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He’ll work under lead receivers coach Troy Walters, helping maintain—and fine-tune—an already ultra-talented group.

Koetter also brings some youth and a modern player’s perspective. He played wide receiver at Boise State from 2018 to 2022, and despite now coaching receivers, he has experience as an assistant quarterbacks coach, which gives him a strong grasp of the full passing game. That versatility fits well on a Bengals staff that’s currently the longest-tenured in the AFC North.

And the major deal-breaker? He is the son of longtime NFL coach Dirk Koetter.

The legacy of Dirk Koetter

Davis Koetter never actually played for his father, Dirk Koetter. But he still grew up around the standard Dirk set. By the time Davis arrived in Denver, his dad had already left a serious imprint on the program. From 1998 to 2000, Dirk turned the Broncos into a winner, going 26–10. He captured two Big West titles and won two Humanitarian Bowls.

From there, Dirk took over at Arizona State and kept rolling. In six seasons with the Sun Devils, he led the team to four bowl appearances and built a reputation around a wide-open, vertical passing attack. During that run, quarterback Andrew Walter shattered multiple Pac-10 records that had previously belonged to John Elway. After college, Dirk made the jump to the NFL and continued to produce results.

In his first seasons as offensive coordinator with the Jaguars (2007), Falcons (2012), and Buccaneers (2015). Each of these offences saw noticeable jumps in both yardage and scoring. He also played a major role in developing quarterbacks. Koetter helped Matt Ryan post some of the best statistical seasons of his career and guided Jameis Winston to the third-most passing yards ever by a rookie at the time (4,042 yards).

Dirk later served as head coach of the Buccaneers from 2016 to 2018, finishing 19–29, highlighted by a 9–7 winning season in his first year. So when the Bengals bring in Davis Koetter, they are also bringing in the “Koetter pedigree.”