NCAAF teams
Adam CaplanBrett McMurphy 9y

Mike Bajakian joins Tampa Bay Bucs

College Football, NFL, Tennessee Volunteers, Central Michigan Chippewas, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Volunteers offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be their quarterbacks coach, the NFL team announced Thursday night.

Bajakian also had interest in the Central Michigan head coaching position, a source told ESPN, but ultimately he opted for the NFL offer.

Bajakian coached for five seasons at Central Michigan: as offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2009 and quarterbacks coach in 2002 and 2003. On Thursday morning, CMU coach Dan Enos resigned to become offensive coordinator at Arkansas.

Bajakian also has ties to Bucs head coach Lovie Smith. Bajakian was an offensive quality control coach with the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2006 when Smith was the Bears' coach.

Bajakian, who was the Vols' offensive coordinator the past two seasons, had spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant under Butch Jones at Tennessee, Cincinnati and Central Michigan.

"We'd like to thank Coach Bajakian for his two years at Tennessee and his efforts in helping us rebuild this storied program," Jones said in a statement released by the university. "We wish him much success with his goal of coaching in the NFL."

Tampa Bay ranked 25th in passing, 29th in points scored and 30th in total offense while stumbling to a 2-14 record last season.

Former Atlanta Falcons assistant Dirk Koetter joined the Bucs as new offensive coordinator this month, and Bajakian figures to play a key role in the development of the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft if Tampa Bay decides to select Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.

Bajakian replaces Marcus Arroyo, who had no previous NFL experience before joining the Bucs last season and unexpectedly being forced to assume responsibility for calling plays when former Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford underwent a heart procedure in August. Tedford never returned to work full time and left the team altogether in December.

The Volunteers averaged 28.9 points and 370.5 yards per game this past season to rank 10th in the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense and 11th in total offense. The offense improved down the stretch after Joshua Dobbs took over as starting quarterback, helping the Vols go 7-6 and win the TaxSlayer Bowl to end a string of four straight losing seasons.

The Vols had averaged 23.8 points and 353.3 yards per game in 2013.

The Buccaneers sputtered offensively, despite having a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in the same season for the first time in franchise history. Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson both topped the plateau, even though quarterback Josh McCown ranked next to last in the league in passer rating.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^