‘A very dynamic personality’: What Kyle Whittingham says about new interim OC Mike Bajakian

After spending the better part of six years at Utah in his second stint with the program, offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig stepped down from his position Sunday night.
“Andy Ludwig, of his own volition, has decided to step down as the offensive coordinator,” Whittingham said during his Monday morning media availability.
“Can’t say enough good things about Andy as far as our relationship, what he’s meant to this program. We go way back, 30-plus years me and Andy go back, and consider him a close friend. Tremendous offensive coordinator, won a bunch of games together, championships together, and he will be missed.”
Ludwig helped author some of the most memorable moments in Utah history, serving as the offensive coordinator for the undefeated 2008 season and back-to-back Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022.
After two seasons of middling offensive production without quarterback Cam Rising running things, including three consecutive losses in which Utah failed to score more than 19 points, Ludwig didn’t have many answers to the questions that kept popping up about the offensive production.
“Andy just felt it was time for the offense to hear a new voice, have new leadership,” Whittingham said. “He was really at a loss for why we were in the situation we’re in. I mean, he’s a guy that he’s as detailed as they get and he really just had no solution to where we’re at and felt like again, that maybe a new direction or a new, at least a new leader at that position would maybe provide a spark.”
The person Utah feels will provide that spark is offensive analyst Mike Bajakian, who has been promoted to interim offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season.
“He’s a very dynamic personality. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s upbeat and I think that the players will respond. That’s the hope,” Whittingham said.
In his first season with the program, Bajakian’s official title was “Senior Offensive Analyst/Quarterbacks,” and with the NCAA rule change this offseason that allowed analysts to coach players, he has been Utah’s quarterback coach all season long.
When Isaac Wilson comes off the field after an offensive series, Bajakian is the first person that he talks to, and the two are often seen reviewing film on a tablet together while Bajakian gives him pointers. The relationship that Wilson and Bajakian have is a positive one, and Utah’s new interim OC can perhaps call the game to Wilson’s strengths a little bit better moving forward.
It’s will be Bajakian’s show for the rest of the season — Whittingham says he has “complete autonomy as the play-caller — but Ute fans shouldn’t expect any wholesale changes from Ludwig’s offense. There’s simply no time to implement a different offensive system, so while Bajakian will add some wrinkles, he’ll pretty much be working out of the current offensive playbook.
A 29-year coaching veteran, Bajakian’s most recent stint was at Northwestern, where he was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator from 2020-23. Under Bajakian, Northwestern averaged 22.1 points per game in 2023, 13.8 points per game in 2022, 16.6 points per game in 2021 and 24.7 points per game in 2020. When interim coach David Braun was elevated to Northwestern’s permanent head coach, he let Bajakian go and hired Zach Lujan.
Other stops as offensive coordinator include Central Michigan (2007-09), Cincinnati (2010-12), Tennessee (2013-14) and Boston College (2019). At Cincinnati, Bajakian helped engineer back-to-back 10-win seasons, scoring an average of 32.8 points per game, and maximizing tight end Travis Kelce’s role in the offense.
Bajakian spent time as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach from 2015-18, helping develop No. 1 pick Jameis Winston in his successful rookie season.
“He comes with a strong resume and has been a play-caller a lot of years and so he was, in the circumstances and the situation we’re in, the obvious choice to finish out the season with and then again, we’ll reevaluate at the end and decide what direction we’re going to go,” Whittingham said.