Sources: Nation's top FCS offensive coordinator Zach Lujan emerges as top Northwestern target
Lujan already helped South Dakota State to the 2022 FCS title, seeks another
JOHN BRICE
JAN 3, 2024
With significant staff shaking up on the heels of his program's break-through, 8-5 2023 campaign, Northwestern coach David Braun is dialing in his search for the program's next offensive coordinator.
Sources tell FootballScoop that South Dakota State offensive coordinator Zach Lujan, FootballScoop's 2023 FCS Offensive Coordinator of the Year, has emerged as a top target in Braun's search to replace Mike Bajakian.
Northwestern wrapped up its impressive debut campaign under Braun that unfolded amidst the sudden firing of Pat Fitzgerald with a win last month against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.
South Dakota State, meanwhile, is set to face familiar foe Montana Sunday in the FCS national championship game.
Lujan, sources stressed to FootballScoop, remains solely focused on SDSU's attempt to win a second-straight FCS title. The Jackrabbits won the program's first in school history last year with Lujan at the controls of the team's high-powered offense.
A former SDSU quarterback from Anchorage, Alaska, Lujan has been on staff at his alma mater for the past six seasons.
Though he's never coached with Braun, the two faced off several times while Lujan was an offensive assistant for the Jackrabbits and Braun was powerhouse North Dakota State's defensive coordinator.
SDSU is No. 3 nationally in scoring offense entering Sunday's title contest, averaging 38.4 points per game. The Jackrabbits averaged more than 34 ppg a year ago in claiming the school's first-ever NCAA FCS title.
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