Report: Utah Football Hiring Northwestern Offensive Coordinator As Analyst

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football is hiring former Northwestern offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian as an offensive analyst for the upcoming 2024 college football season.

This news comes on the heels of Cory Dennis whom the Utes hired for the position about a month ago quickly moving on to Ole Miss with Lane Kiffin.

Bajakian has some recent familiarity with the Utah football offense after getting an up-close look during the 2023 Las Vegas Bowl.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the news Monday morning via X.

Sources: Utah is hiring long-time college offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian as an analyst. He was Northwestern’s OC for the school’s 8-5 revival last season and the school’s Big Ten West title in 2020 and No. 10 overall Associated Press poll finish.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 4, 2024

Mike Bajakian’s History In College Football

Bajakian started his college coaching career as a quarterback’s coach and passing game coordinator back in 1996 with the Delbarton School.

He then moved on to Rutgers as a graduate assistant, Sacred Heart as a quarterbacks coach and Michigan as a grad assistant again.

Bajakian jumped up to the pros with the Chicago Bears as an offensive quality control coach in 2004-2006 which was sandwiched between two different stints with Central Michigan. After leaving the Bearcats for the second time, Bajakian went to Cincinatti where he stayed from 2010 t0 2012 as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

In 2013, Bajakian tested the waters in the SEC with Tennessee as their OC and quarterbacks coach until 2014. Bajakian made one more jump from there to the NFL, this time with Tampa Bay from 2015-2018 as their quarterbacks coach.

Bajakian returned to college football in 2019 with Boston College before moving on to Northwestern in 2020 where he has been their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach up until last year.

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 X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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