New UMass OC Mike Bajakian Will Bring Balance
A look at what to expect under new Minutemen offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian
One of the most important hires any defensive-minded head football coach can make is an offensive coordinator he can trust as almost the “head coach” of the offense.
New UMass head football coach Joe Harasymiak, a long-time successful defensive coach his entire career is no different. Harasymiak welcomed fellow Bergen County, NJ native Mike Bajakian to Amherst to lead the newly formed Minuteman offense, as they look to charge the field in 2025.
One thing we know is that it will be balanced, efficient, and well-prepared.
MIKE BAJAKIAN RÉSUMÉ
1996-97: Delbarton School, QBs & Passing Game Coordinator
1998-99: Rutgers, GA, DBs
2000: Sacred Heart, QBs
2000-01: Michigan, GA, QBs
2002-03: Central Michigan, QBs
2004-06: Chicago Bears, Offensive Quality Control, WRs
2007-09: Central Michigan, OC & QBs
2010-12: Cincinnati, OC & QBs
2013-14: Tennessee, OC & QBs
2015-18: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, QBs
2019: Boston College, OC & QBs
2020-23: Northwestern University, OC & QBs
2024: Utah, OC & QBs
What does all this experience say for what to expect when UMass has the ball this coming fall? The best answer is to look back on the type of offensive football Bajakian has been around and dive a little deeper into the last time he was a full-time play-caller for multiple years, which happened to be for another defensive-minded coach at Northwestern in Pat Fitzgerald.
While there have been many contributions that influenced Bajakian’s offensive philosophy, one of the first that jumps out is what he has drawn from the NFL: creating matchups. This does not mean that you will see an exclusive “pro-style” offense, but rather do whatever needs to be done to move the ball by using multiple personnel groupings and formations and take what the defense is giving you.
While “taking what they give you” is an overused cliche used by broadcast teams everywhere, when it is done right, there is genius in the simplicity of that approach. A paralleled cliche is “balance” on offense.
This does not always mean equal run/pass ratios, though Bakajian has shown that as well. In 2021 with the Wildcats, his offense rushed for 2119 yards and passed for 2128 yards over the course of a 12-game season.
However, balance does not always mean equal run to pass. As the great late Coach Mike Leach once stated, “I want all people to touch it. There is nothing balanced about 50% run and 50% pass,” Leach said. “Because that’s 50% stupid.”
Leach went on during one of his classic rants, “Balance is finding as many different ways to do what you do well, and so many passes nowadays are essentially running plays. Balance is exploiting defensive weaknesses and sometimes that's not always in the box along the defensive front.”
"Now, what is balanced is when you have five skill positions ... if all five of them are contributing to the offensive effort in a somewhat equal fashion, then that's balanced," he continued. "But this notion that, if you hand it to one guy 50 percent of the time and then you throw it to a combination of two guys the other 50 percent, that you're really balanced ... you probably pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that, and people have been doing that for decades. Well, you're delusional."
To this point, Bajakian’s offense in 2022 targeted 20 different receivers. While some of that was out of necessity in playing from behind in a tougher year at Northwestern, it goes to show how this OC is willing to create balance in many different ways, even by Leach’s definition of it.
Below is a simple 4-vertical concept dialed up by Bajakian in 2022. Ironically, this was a Leach staple with multiple site adjustments by the wide receivers but make no mistake – Bajakian is not an “Air Raid” offense disciple. Rather, he is going to gameplan on offense to be successful week-to-week and certainly have the capability to run the football successfully, something you need to do in place like Chicago (Northwestern) or Western Massachusetts late in the season.
On this play, Duke dials up a basic zone pressure blitzing the nickel defender, spinning the safety down behind him, slanting the defensive line away from the pressure, with the weakside defensive end responsible for dropping into the weak flat and the weak safety responsible for the middle of the field – ultimately getting to a Cover 3 (3 deep thirds) zone defense.
MinutemanCommand.com will not be a Mike Leach-dedicated website and as previously stated – Bajakian does not run a Mike Leach offense. However, another Leach gem of a quote happens to apply here, “Games are won Monday through Friday. They are not just won on Saturdays.”
To this point, because of the work with the quarterback in preparation, he knew immediately to “throw away from rotation,” or throw to the side of the safety rotating down the middle of the field – not to the side of the safety spinning down into the slot WR on a vertical (on the field side).
Additionally, because it is cover-3, both corners bail and take a deep third – taking away the vertical routes outside. So, the ball needs to get thrown on a rope to the weak inside receiver, as shown below (circled).
Very simple play. Only one example. Versus a simple defense. So, what we can decipher from this one exemplification?
Bajakian is going to have his team/offense/quarterback prepared to exploit defenses. He subscribes to a very simple, yet effective offense philosophy, “Go where they are not.”
Every defense has a weakness. Since the beginning of time, there has yet to be a defense designed to completely shut down every call on one given play. Therefore, the preparation before the game, the varying personnel groupings and formations, and the ability to execute and exploit those weaknesses make for an efficient offense system.
As we continue to grow together, we will dive deeper into all kinds of plays, schemes, philosophies, personnel, and situational football for UMass.
For now, rest assured that the Minuteman offense is in good hands – as well as prepared and balanced – by any definition.