Following Andy Ludwig’s resignation on Sunday, the Utah Utes made a move to replace the void he left.
Utah will promote Mike Bajakian to offensive coordinator. The Utes will also hand over play-calling duties and the quarterbacks coach role over to the veteran assistant, who’s been coaching major college football and NFL football since the start of the 2000s.
“Utah’s Kyle Whittingham has promoted Mike Bajakian to Interim offensive coordinator,” Bruce Feldman said.
Utah’s Kyle Whittingham has promoted Mike Bajakian to Interim offensive coordinator with Bajakian also serving as quarterbacks coach and the primary play-caller. The former NFL assistant was OC and QB coach at Northwestern from 2019-23.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 21, 2024
The Utes saw Andy Ludwig depart after a disappointing start to the 2024 college football season. This is that time of year, where resignations and dismissals begin to swell.
Before he joined Utah, Bajakian worked for several NFL and college football teams. His last stop was at Northwestern, where he held a job from 2020 to 2023. He also previously worked for Rutgers, Sacred Heart, Michigan, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Boson College, the Chicago Bears, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So he’s well-traveled. Now he’ll get one of his biggest shots to date at a strong program in SLC.
Utah is 4-3 and 1-3 in Big 12 play. The Utes‘ first season in the Big 12 isn’t going as many predicted. Some envisioned the team being a Big 12 and College Football Playoff contender. Barring a massive turnaround, they won’t be playing for anything notable this December at all.
The college football world had much to say on this news.
It is hard to overstate just how awful and dry a Mike Bajakian coordinated offense is. I feel very sad for Utah fans who have to watch the rest of this season.
Firing Ludwig but having no one better lined up to replace him is pretty negligent by Kyle Whittingham https://t.co/DuANDR85Ed
— College Football Watcher (@CFBWatcher) October 21, 2024
Going from Andy Ludwig to Mike Bajakian. https://t.co/AXubzy1qQU pic.twitter.com/IwrnCj3WL9
— Tyler Long (@tylerlong5) October 21, 2024
Recency Bias skews the perception of Andy Ludwig. He’s had many great offensive seasons, but the last two, not so much.
However, Mike Bajakian’s history isn’t as rosy. Some of this is due to personnel available, but still…😬 pic.twitter.com/cs4oElUPlk
— Matt Patton (@patton_matt) October 21, 2024
This is how every drive will go with Mike Bajakian calling the plays https://t.co/Nf6PEh5rsx
— Nate (@BigNateTwelve) October 21, 2024
And a former high school bowling coach… (Explains why we got along for our 3 years together!) https://t.co/b6kJvhanVv
— Adam Niemeyer (@adamniemeyer) October 21, 2024
