A second straight disappointing season has prompted head coach Kyle Whittingham to shake up his offensive coaching staff.
In a press release, the Utes announced Friday that Whittingham has named Dave Christensen as his new offensive coordinator. Christensen will also serve as tight ends coach.
The hiring comes nearly three weeks after his firing as Wyoming’s head coach.
“As one of the pioneers of the spread offense, Dave Christensen is an innovative coach and was the architect of one of the top offenses in the country during his time at Missouri,” said Whittingham. “We feel fortunate he was available and interested in joining our program, and he will be a great fit with our staff. We want an explosive offense and that’s been a trademark of Dave’s throughout his career as an offensive coordinator.”
Among his previous coaching stops was at Missouri from 2001-08 where he served as the coordinator of one of the top offenses in the country.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity to work with Kyle again,” said Christensen. “We were assistants together many years ago at Idaho State and I have great respect for him and what he has accomplished since then. I am also excited to be back coaching at the BCS level and at the University of Utah in particular, where I think there is a great opportunity for success. I have experience in the Pac-12 as a player and a coach at Washington and it is exciting to be back in one of the premier conferences in the country.”
Dennis Erickson and Brian Johnson served as co-coordinators in 2013. Both have been demoted but will continue on as position coaches for running backs and quarterbacks, respectively.
Erickson and, obviously, Christensen are former head coaches at the FBS level.