SALT LAKE CITY — Kyle Whittingham, the head coach of the Utah Utes, announced the appointment of Jason Beck as the team’s new offensive coordinator on Thursday evening.
Beck comes to Utah after a successful stint at New Mexico, where he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach this past season. Under Beck’s leadership, the Lobos achieved remarkable results, topping the Mountain West Conference with an average of 484.3 total yards per game. New Mexico also excelled in red zone efficiency and secured the highest number of first downs in the conference, totaling 298. Furthermore, they ranked second in the conference for rushing offense, amassing 253.6 yards per game.
Prior to his role at New Mexico, Beck spent two seasons at Syracuse as a quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator for the Orange in 2023. He has an extensive coaching background, having worked with Bronco Mendenhall for six seasons at Virginia and three years at BYU, where he also played as a backup quarterback from 2004 to 2006.
Initially, Utah had its sights set on candidates Ben Arbuckle and Mack Leftwich for the offensive coordinator position, but both opted for other opportunities, with Arbuckle heading to Oklahoma and Leftwich taking a job at Texas Tech. After their departures, the Utes moved forward with Beck as their choice.
The new coordinator faces the challenge of rejuvenating a struggling Utah offense that contributed to the team finishing with a disappointing 5-7 record and missing out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2013. In the recent season, Utah’s offensive performance ranked 14th in the Big 12 for scoring with an average of 23.6 points per game and 15th in total offense, accumulating 329.8 yards per game.
Andy Ludwig, the longtime offensive coordinator, resigned during the season following the team’s offensive challenges, leading to Mike Bajakian, an offensive analyst, being appointed as the interim coordinator. However, despite the change, the Utes did not observe significant improvements in their offensive performance in the aftermath.
