SALT LAKE CITY – Andy Ludwig is back in Utah and appears to have given his answer according to a Tweet sent out by ESPN’s Pete Thamel Monday night after interviewing with Notre Dame over the weekend: Ludwig will stay on as Utah’s OC in 2023.

Rumors started swirling earlier last week that Ludwig was a top candidate for the Irish’s open offensive coordinator job after Tommy Rees left to be the OC at Alabama. Those rumors died after it appeared Notre Dame found their guy in Collin Klein, but he ended up staying on as Kansas State’s next OC.

That move reopened the conversation of Ludwig to Notre Dame and became a very real possibility Friday evening as reports circulated Ludwig was in South Bend to interview for the job.

Sources: Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is staying at Utah. His buyout proved an obstacle in discussions with Notre Dame.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 14, 2023

Ultimately, it appears Ludwig’s buyout was problematic for the Golden Dome as suggested by Thamel’s Tweet, resulting in a big staff-retention win for the Utes. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg backed up Thamel’s report siting a $2 million buyout not counting taxes that the Utes were not going to budge on.

Buyout was around $2 million (more with the tax paid). Utah wasn’t going to budge. Ludwig is extremely valuable for Utes. https://t.co/6MOWUHGxjR

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) February 14, 2023

Andy Ludwig’s Accomplishments At Utah

Ludwig has had quite the ride so far with the Utes being part of some of their most important and historic seasons including the 2008 undefeated Sugar Bowl year as well as Utah’s 2021 and 2022 back-to-back Pac-12 Titles and Rose Bowl appearances.

Ludwig has also been instrumental in the development of some of the best quarterbacks to ever play for the Utes including Brian Johnson in 2008, Tyler Huntley in 2019 and Cam Rising who is currently the starter. All three quarterbacks have either gone on to have successful careers outside of the Utes or are on the cusp of doing so.

Having Ludwig choose to return is a major win for the Utes as they get set to embark on what could be another big year in 2023.

The Utes are returning some of their key players including Rising, Brant Kuithe, Devaughn Vele, Thomas Yassmin, and Micah Bernard that give Ludwig a lot of experience to work with in a system they are all very familiar with.

It is expected Utah could potentially threepeat as Pac-12 Champions and having their offensive coordinator back as part of the attack is a positive step toward that goal.

This story will be updated as more details become available.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports

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