From Mick to Mike, Northwestern’s offense is officially in the throes of some much-needed change.
Coming off a season that featured one of the worst offenses in recent Big Ten history, Northwestern announced that coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mick McCall had been dismissed. A little over two weeks later, the football program confirmed that Mike Bajakian has been hired to take over coordinating the Wildcats’ offense. As McCall did, Bajakian will also handle the team’s quarterbacks.
Bajakian held the same jobs at Boston College in 2019, his first season at the ACC school. Prior to BC, Bajakian was the quarterbacks coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2015-18.
“We are ecstatic to welcome Mike, Michelene and their five children, to the Northwestern football family,” said NU head football coach Pat Fitzgerald in a statement. “He has demonstrated outstanding impact and improvement at every stop of his career, both in college football and in the National Football League. The feedback we received from former colleagues and student-athletes was impeccable. He has helmed offenses that beat you through the air, and others that punished opponents on the ground, depending on personnel. Mike rose up our candidate list with every conversation we had about him, and we are thrilled to have him on board in advance of the early signing period and winter workouts.”
Bajakian takes over a Northwestern squad that finished the 2019 regular season 124th nationally in total offense (297.1 yards per game); 126th in scoring offense (16.3 points per game); 127th in passing offense (117 ypg); and tied for 128th in passing touchdowns (six).