Andy Ludwig isn’t going anywhere.
The University of Utah offensive coordinator will remain in Salt Lake City after interviewing for the same position at Notre Dame over the weekend, multiple sources confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune on Monday evening.
Ludwig took a trip to South Bend on Friday evening for what amounted to a recruiting pitch from Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. He arrived home on Saturday, but any potential face-to-face meeting about his future with Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham couldn’t happen until at least Monday evening. Whittingham spent several days in Phoenix at the Super Bowl supporting his son, Alex, a defensive quality control coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Notre Dame’s coordinator spot became open when 30-year-old Tommy Rees, a former standout quarterback for the Fighting Irish from 2010-13, was hired as the OC at Alabama on Feb. 3. Rees was reportedly making roughly $2 million per year in South Bend.
Ludwig is believed to be the Pac-12′s highest-paid offensive coordinator (USC’s data is unavailable as a private institution), while operating on a rolling three-year deal. His buyout is $2.8 million, a number that was initially believed to be a potential deterrent.
These types of flirtations with other jobs often end in pay raises, but it is unclear if he will now get that from Utah.
Ludwig, an Ogden native who played at Snow College and started his coaching career as a graduate assistant (1992) at Utah, just completed the fourth season of his second tenure as the Utes’ offensive coordinator in 2022. Along the way, he has turned Utah’s offense into a force in the last two seasons.
Last season, the Utes averaged 466.9 yards of total offense (No. 5 Pac-12, No. 17 nationally) and 38.6 points per game (No. 5 Pac-12, No. 11 nationally) on their way to a second straight Rose Bowl appearance. In 2021, Utah averaged 36.1 points per game and 431.1 yards of total offense.
In the last four seasons, which included the COVID-impacted five-game 2020 campaign, Utah is 34-13 overall and 26-6 against the Pac-12 with Ludwig in charge of the offense.
Ludwig’s return keeps Utah on schedule for what could be another monster season in 2023 for the back-to-back Pac-12 championships.
With Ludwig’s return to Utah sealed, the Utes’ next biggest offensive question is the health of quarterback Cam Rising. Rising will miss spring practice due to a torn ACL suffered Jan. 2 at the Rose Bowl. He is expected to be ready for the opener, but his availability for the start of fall camp is unknown.
