Central Michigan University Athletics
Jones Adds Three Assistants to Coaching Staff
1/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT – Central Michigan University head football coach Butch Jones has added three more assistants to his coaching staff.
Joining the coaching staff are Mike Bajakian (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Mark Elder (linebackers) and Mike Kolakowski (safeties).
Bajakian, who is in his third season as the offensive quality control coach for the Chicago Bears, will join the CMU staff following the Bears’ participation in Super Bowl XLI on Feb. 4. Bajakian also works with the Bears’ wide receivers in his current role.
“I’ve known Mike for a long time, I’ve worked with him before, and it’s clear that he is a great teacher,” Jones said. “He is a motivated and organized person who excels in coaching the fundamentals of the quarterback position. Mike has been involved with the game of football at the highest levels, and his experience with the Chicago Bears and that organization’s recent success will be invaluable to our program.”
Bajakian has been a part of back-to-back NFC North Division championship teams in Chicago. The Bears’ 13-3 regular season record was the best in the NFC, while Chicago’s 24 wins the past two seasons are the most in the NFC during that span.
This will be Bajakian’s second stint as an assistant at CMU. He spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons coaching the Chippewas’ quarterbacks.
A 1996 graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., Bajakian was an All-New England Small College Athletic Conference and All-Eastern College Athletic Conference selection as a quarterback. He broke into the coaching ranks by serving as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., helping lead to the school to consecutive trips to the parochial state finals.
Bajakian spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons at Rutgers as a graduate assistant coaching the defensive backs. He then spent a brief period at Sacred Heart before moving on to Michigan for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He was part of a co-Big Ten championship team in 2000 that defeated Auburn in the Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl. During that season, he worked with honorable mention All-Big Ten selection Drew Henson. In 2001, Bajakian coached the punt rush phase of the Wolverines’ special teams; UM blocked a school-record eight punts that season.
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| Mark Elder | Mike Bajakian | Mike Kolakowski |
Elder comes to CMU by way of Michigan, where he spent the past two seasons. As a defensive graduate assistant in 2006, Elder worked closely with the UM linebackers, including All-Big Ten selections David Harris and Shawn Crable. The 2006 Michigan defense led the nation in rushing yards allowed (43.4 ypg) and ranked 10th in total defense (268.3 ypg allowed).
“Mark has a high level of energy and a great passion for the game of football,” Jones said. “His past experience as a defensive coordinator will be beneficial to our defensive unit, and he brings with him an extensive knowledge of the linebacker position. Mark is an outstanding teacher who has learned from some of the best coaches in the country, including his most recent experience under Steve Szabo at Michigan.”
Elder has previously served as the defensive coordinator at Wayne State (2004) and Iona (2003), also serving as the linebackers coach at both institutions. He worked with a pair of All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference linebackers at Iona and directed a defense that ranked first in the MAAC in total defense and second in scoring and rushing defense.
Elder began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coaching defensive backs at Akron (2000-01) before spending the 2002 season as an assistant linebackers coach at Lehigh. He was part of a co-MAC East Division championship at Akron in 2000 and assisted in coaching first team All-American Dwight Smith.
Elder is a 2000 graduate of Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts in economics while earning four varsity letters in football. He was a three-time all-conference selection as a defensive back.
Kolakowski has spent the past three seasons at Youngstown State, serving as the defensive coordinator in 2006 after sharing the duties in 2005. Along with YSU, Kolakowski has filled or shared the role of defensive coordinator at Cincinnati (2003), California (Pa.) (1995-96), Maine (1989), William and Mary (1988) and Morehead State (1983) during his 27-year coaching career. He also spent five seasons as the head coach at California (Pa.).
“Mike brings a wealth of knowledge to our entire football program, having been a defensive coordinator at a number of Division I institutions,” Jones said. “He also has experience as a head coach, which is a benefit to our entire program. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Mike when he worked summer camps at West Virginia in the past, and I am very excited to have him as a part of the CMU football family.”
Kolakowski also coached the secondary during his tenure at Youngstown State. In 2005, cornerback Codera Jackson was a first team All-Gateway Conference selection and earned All-America second team accolades from three different outlets. Prior to his stay at YSU, Kolakowski spent the 2003 season as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Cincinnati.
No stranger to the MAC, Kolakowski spent a total of six seasons as an assistant at Ohio. He coached the Bobcats’ secondary from 1990-94, adding the title of special teams coordinator during the 1994 season. He returned to OU to coach the secondary during the 2002 campaign.
Between his stops at Ohio, Kolakowski spent seven seasons at California (Pa.), the final five (1997-2001) as head coach. He led California to at least five wins each of his final three seasons, a feat the program had not accomplished since 1961-63.
A 1979 graduate of Ohio Northern University, Kolakowski has coached on the defensive side of the ball throughout his career. He worked directly with the defensive line (1982) and secondary and linebackers (1983) at Morehead State, secondary (1984-87) and linebackers (1988) at William and Mary and secondary (1989) at Maine before beginning his first stint at Ohio in 1990.
Jones was named CMU’s 25th head football coach Jan. 5. He previously announced the hirings of Zach Azzanni (assistant head coach/wide receivers), Tim Banks (defensive coordinator), Max Glowacki (tight ends) and Don Mahoney (offensive line) to the CMU staff.
