Andy Ludwig steps down as Utah’s offensive coordinator

Following a 13-7 loss to TCU in which the Utes’ offense scored just once in 14 drives, Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig has stepped down from his position.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham announced the news in a statement on Sunday night.

“Assistant coach Andy Ludwig has made the decision to step down from his position with Utah Football,” Whittingham said.

“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. 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.”

For the second straight year without Cam Rising under center, Utah’s offense has been pedestrian, ranking No. 72 in total offense (385.9 yards per game), No. 71 in passing offense (226.3 yards per game), and No. 95 in scoring offense (24 points per game).

The red-zone struggles have been well documented, with Utah scoring on just 80.8% of its trips inside the 20-yard line and finding the end zone just 46.2% of the time, which ranks No. 120 in FBS.

Things reached a breaking point on Saturday night after Utah gained just 267 yards, never reached the red zone, and either punted or turned the ball over on downs on 13 of their 14 drives. Postgame, Whittingham said that he would “look at everything really hard in the next 48 hours and make some tough decisions.”

Less than 24 hours after saying that, Whittingham announced that Ludwig would be stepping down.

Mike Bajakian will meet with the media on Monday evening and is the likely replacement for Ludwig for the rest of the season. Bajakian is in his first year with the program as an offensive analyst and has worked with the quarterbacks this season. Prior to Utah, Bajakian served as the offensive coordinator for Northwestern from 2020-2023 and also had a stint as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach from 2015-2016.

Bajakian, a 28-year coaching veteran, has also called plays for Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Boston College.

Though it was an unceremonious end to Ludwig’s second stint as Utah’s offensive coordinator, he helped author some of the most memorable moments in school history, beginning with his first stretch in Salt Lake City.

In 2008, led by quarterback Brian Johnson and a rushing attack spearheaded by Matt Asiata and Darrell Mack, Ludwig’s play-calling helped guide the Utes to their second undefeated season in four years, culminating in a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

The 2009 Sugar Bowl may have been Ludwig’s best-called game, as Utah scored 21 first-quarter points with an up-tempo offense and a well-designed game plan that had the Crimson Tide on their heels.

After stops at Cal, San Diego State, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt, Ludwig returned as Utah’s offensive coordinator in 2019. In his first season back, Ludwig helped inject life back into Utah’s offense — specifically the passing game. The 2019 team, led by Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss, scored 32 points per game and went to the Pac-12 championship.

Huntley threw for 3,092 yards, the first time a Utes quarterback had thrown for over 2,900 yards since Johnson did so in 2008, also under Ludwig.

Ludwig’s offense soared to new heights under Rising, who threw for 2,493 yards and 20 touchdowns in the 2021 season while leading the Utes to their first-ever Pac-12 championship. A year later, the Utes claimed back-to-back Pac-12 crowns, led by 3,034 yards and 26 touchdowns from Rising.

Utah scored 38.6 points per game in the 2022 season, the first time the Utes had scored more than 38 points per game since the undefeated 2004 season.