SALT LAKE CITY — After a disappointing start to their first season in the Big 12 Conference, the University of Utah's football staff is undergoing a major mid-season change.
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham announced Sunday night that Assistant Coach Andy Ludwig has stepped down. Ludwig was the Utes' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian has been named the team's interim offensive coordinator.
"Andy is the consummate professional and we want to thank him for his complete dedication to our program during his 10 total seasons with us," Whittingham said in a written statement. "Coach Ludwig has been instrumental to our success here at Utah and personally, I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Andy as both a coach and a person. We wish him nothing but the best in all of his future endeavors."
This comes the day after Utah lost 7-13 to TCU at home — the Utes' third-straight loss.
After Utah's tough loss, Whittingham hinted that a shake-up of some sort was imminent.
"There’s no mystery as to what our issues are," he said, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune. "It’s been showing for three weeks in a row now. We’ve got to, look at everything really hard in the next 24-48 hours, make some tough decisions and then see where we’re at."
It's been a particularly tough season for Utah. Quarterback Cam Rising missed some early games due to a hand injury against Baylor on Sept. 12, then was ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his leg against Arizona State on Oct. 11.
Ludwig was in his 10th season overall as Utah's offensive coordinator. He held the position from 2005-2008, then left to be the OC at California, San Diego State, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt, respectively. He then returned to Utah in 2019.
