Posted by: Chris Vannini on November 21, 2012

With Mike Price having announced his retirement earlier this week, the search to find his replacement is under way.

On Monday, we listed a few names to watch for in that search, but another name to keep an eye on is Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, according to sources.

While it may seem odd, Koetter and UTEP athletic director Bob Stull go way back. When Stull was a coach, Koetter was his offensive coordinator at UTEP from 1986-88 and at Missouri from 1989-93.

Koetter went after the Hawaii head coaching job last offseason, but didn't get it. He wants to be a head coach again. He was the head man at Boise State from 1998-2000 and at Arizona State from 2001-06 before moving to the NFL.

One interesting part about this possibility, it looks like the Falcons could make a run in the playoffs. Most NFL coaches will stay with their team until the end of the season, which means they can start behind the eight ball when they finally reach their college.

A year ago, Curtis Johnson stayed with the Saints to the end before fully moving over to Tulane, while Bill O'Brien made it all the way to the Super Bowl with the Patriots before he could turn his attention to Penn State. Both of those hires are working out well for the respective schools.

The Falcons are 9-1, and a playoff appearance is very likely, so that could affect how quickly Koetter would be able to adjust to a college job. This will be something to keep an eye on.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com