Central Michigan University Athletics
Football Adds Three Assistants
2/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 19, 2002
MOUNT PLEASANT -- There will be three new assistant coaches on the field for Central Michigan University football when spring drills start on March 20.
New members of head coach Mike DeBord's staff are Mike Bajakian, Joe Danna and Tor Dixon. Bajakian will coach the quarterbacks, Danna the wide receivers and Dixon the defensive backfield.
They are replacing Scot Loeffler (Michigan) and Curt Mallory (Indiana) who left to take assistant posts in the Big Ten, and Jason Carr who decided to get out coaching.
"Replacing three coaches in one season is a bit on the heavy side but you're always preparing for that as a head coach," DeBord said. "We lost three excellent coaches but we added three character people who are great teachers and coaches."
Bajakian, a 1996 graduate of Williams College, was a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan where he worked with the quarterbacks. Prior to joining the Wolverine staff he was at Sacred Heart University, Rutgers University and Delbarton High in Morristown, N.J. He's a native of Oradell, N.J.
"Coming from Michigan means a lot to me because of the system he's worked under there," DeBord said. "He comes highly recommended by the staff there for his work ethic and knowledge. It's important to me that the quarterback coach has he same beliefs and uses the same terminology that we do."
Danna, a four-year letterwinner for the Chippewas, has spent the last year as a graduate assistant at the University of Georgia where he worked with the secondary. The 2000 CMU graduate was a student assistant from January of 1999 to May of 2000 for Central Michigan and then served as a graduate assistant for Central from May of 2000 until taking the Georgia post.
The Midland High product was a wide receiver for the Chippewas. He had 43 career catches for 567 yards and also served as a punt returner.
"Joe loves Central Michigan and he has a great passion for coaching," DeBord said. "He'll be great for our wide receivers because he has knowledge of receiving and the defensive secondary that he acquired at Georgia."
Dixon comes to Central from Indiana State where he was the recruiting coordinator/secondary coach for the past year. He also has coaching experience at Northern Iowa, Bowling Green, Denison and New Albany (Ind.) High.
Dixon, a native of Columbus, Ohio, is a 1995 graduate of Vanderbilt University where he played football for three years and earned one letter in the defensive backfield.
"Tor has great understanding of secondary play and will bring a lot to our defense," DeBord said. "He's experienced as a player and as a coach. He's young and enthusiastic and will be a great leader for our young players in the secondary."
