Every struggling program needs a “fall guy.” Welcome to the current reality of Utah Football. Whether right or wrong, Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig resigned from his play-calling duties on Sunday night. While it was his choice on paper, it’s obvious how it had to go down.
“Assistant coach Andy Ludwig has made the decision to step down from his position with Utah Football,” said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. “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.”
While fans are surely breathing a sigh of relief after back-to-back-to-back bad offensive performances and a season of “difficult to explain” play-calling, the mood is somber around the football offices that is known for its coaching stability. Ludwig’s fellow coaches are undoubtedly wondering what they could have done differently and if this a band aid, who could be next.
Currently Ludwig is looked at as the coach who called predictable or jaw-dropping plays because the analytics favored it. It’s been an ugly 2024 offensives season, let’s be real. It hasn’t been pretty. Utah is averaging 14.5 points per game in four Big 12 games. The offense is also No. 121 nationally in 3rd down conversion percentage at 32%. I could go on with numbers that are difficult to stomach, but I’ll stop there.
However, when the dust settles, Ludwig will be remembered as the offensive coordinator who delivered an undefeated season, had a Sugar Bowl victory, two Pac-12 titles, and two Rose Bowl appearances. Ludwig is the best offensive coordinator in Utah history that stayed for more than one year. He’s also the only offensive coordinator that Whittingham worked well with from a coaching philosophy standpoint.
Here’s the list of offensive coordinators in Whittingham’s 20 years as Utah head coach:
Andy Ludwig, 2005-08
Dave Schramm, 2009-10
Aaron Roderick, 2010
Norm Chow, 2011
Brian Johnson, 2012-13
Dennis Erickson, 2013
Aaron Roderick/Jim Harding, 2015-16
Troy Taylor, 2017-18
Andy Ludwig, 2019-2024
This list leaves the current situation open to interpretation. What is easy to see from this list is that some successful (elsewhere) offensive coordinators didn’t find success at Utah, but Ludwig did. The reason is simple, Whittingham prioritizes defense over offense. It’s a recipe that has worked throughout most of his 20 years, but the last two seasons are two exceptions.
The 2024 season was supposed to be different. With Cam Rising slated to return, Utah was expected to put their foot on the pedal offensively and pile up the points. Unfortunately for Utah, Rising’s bad injury luck continued and Ludwig and Whittingham have been unable to adjust. With Rising and all of his experience, Utah was able to run a complex offense. With Isaac Wilson, an 18 year-old freshman, the playbook is limited and Ludwig and Whittingham have looked stumped in the process.
Now with Rising out for the season and the ever-trusted Ludwig no longer around, the Utes find themselves in uncharted territory. To call the plays, Whittingham needs to be open to getting out of a his comfort zone. The Utes are running out of answers. Whittingham’s job is as safe as they come, but the program is also reaching the twilight of the Whittingham era. It’s time to salvage what they can and let the offensive coaches either save the season or continue with the status quo.
The Utes' long-time offensive coordinator may have been the main culprit to Utah’s current offensive play-calling struggles, but there’s more to the team’s struggles than the resolution they came to on Sunday night. How they respond going forward will depend on the soul-searching that Whittingham and the Utah offensive staff does going forward. Of course, the players aren’t without fault either, but credit to Whittingham for shouldering the blame and making an uncomfortable decision.
Ludwig is not a pariah. History will eventually be kind to him. Over two coaching stints, he’s been the genius behind most of Utah's magical offensive moments of the Kyle Whittingham era. While it might be easy to focus on his recent struggles, Ludwig has given Ute fans several happy memories to last a lifetime.
