Michigan State football officially hires its next QB coach

Michigan State football has officially hired its next quarterbacks coach after Mike Bajakian left for the NFL.

After Mike Bajakian departed for the NFL to work in the same role with the Cleveland Browns to begin the month, Michigan State football quickly filled the hole on its staff by hiring former Rutgers senior offensive analyst John McNulty.

McNulty has an extensive resume, coaching both in the NFL and NCAA. Alabama, Penn State, and Notre Dame are just a few of McNulty’s stops in the college setting after coaching for the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Beginning as a graduate assistant at Michigan, McNulty immediately moved into coaching in 1991 after playing as a safety at Penn State between 1988-90. Of the 16 total stops during McNulty’s 35-year coaching career, the former Nittany Lion has made it as high as offensive coordinator at Rutgers in 2007-08 and once again in 2018-19, and then at Boston College in 2022.

McNulty worked as an analyst at Alabama in 2024 alongside Michigan State offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. It would be assumed that Sheridan had a key role in McNulty’s hire, with both having worked together for the Crimson Tide.

McNulty has worked with stars in the past like Larry Fitzgerald, among others. After Fitzgerald was drafted by the Cardinals in 2004 and worked closely with McNulty between 2009-11 as the Cardinals wide receivers coach.

Under McNulty in 2022, Boston College’s offense scored 17.75 points per game with 247 passing yards and 63 rushing yards per game. The Eagles also ran a dual-quarterback system with Phil Jurkovec and Emmett Morehead. Jurkovec as a junior threw for 1,711 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Morehead threw for 1,254 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with only six interceptions.

It is clear that McNulty prefers passing the ball.  His role as quarterback coach will be definitive in the Spartans offensive attack come 2026. McNulty will work closely with MSU sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and UCF transfer Cam Fancher in training camp and during the season to develop a strong and resilient passing game that the green and white can rely on come fall in Spartan Stadium.