Davidson introduces Saj Thakkar: 5 things to know about Wildcats’ head football coach
Whenever Saj Thakkar had down time over vacation breaks as an assistant coach, he’d jot ideas on paper.
Davidson football’s new head coach always had aspirations of running his own program, but he never wanted to let those dreams interfere with the jobs he had. Thakkar has long understood the impact of good coaches — developing relationships with student-athletes that go well beyond the ‘X’s’ and ‘O’s’ — and strove to become a leader at this level.
Thakkar, 33, was introduced as the 29th head coach in Wildcats history Friday morning inside the new Davidson College Stadium.
“First and foremost, we’ll be fundamentally sound in our program: Offense, defense and special teams will thrive in situational football,” Thakkar said. “We’ll put a tremendous emphasis on the minor details it takes to winning football games.
“We will win here. But we’ll do it the right way, our way, the Davidson way.”
An important time for Davidson
Thakkar hopes to make the Mecklenburg County school a premier FCS contender.
As important as it will be to bring in strong football players, the former head coach of Division II Bentley University looks to find the ones who will fit in well at Davidson. He’ll want players who will value their education and alumni network as they vet top student-athletes through high school coaches and counselors.
“People who understand they’re gonna have an outstanding football experience these next four years, but they’re really going to Davidson for the next 40 years after graduation,” Thakkar said. “All my experiences that I’ve had really lined up well with this job here at Davidson. I wouldn’t have left my last job for just, any other job. I felt this place aligned perfectly.”
Athletics director Chris Clunie thanked Scott Abell, who accepted the head coaching job at Rice, for laying a championship foundation over “seven transformative years” at Davidson.
The search was focused on two big components: A candidate who would fit Davidson — a great person who will embrace the college’s mission around leadership and service — just as much as finding that head coach who could bring this program to the next level.
“We wanted somebody who could help us clear the bar,” Clunie said. “And for us, the bar for Davidson football is as high as it’s been, probably since the late 1960s. Our goal is to clear the bar. We want to build a championship, competitive foundation, but we want to sustain it. We’ve won PFL championships, FCS playoffs, but we want to advance it.
“Why not try to become one of the best FCS programs in the country? Clearly said, we want to win, and we believe we found that person in Saj Thakkar.”
Thakkar coached a winning Division II program
While Thakkar became Bentley’s third head coach in the past decade, there isn’t a long list.
He’s only the seventh head coach in school history, which dates back to 1972. The Falcons posted a 6-4 record during Thakkar’s first season in 2023, winning four of their final five games in Northeast 10 conference play. They closed out their season against New Haven in a position to win the conference, but came up short by a touchdown.
Thakkar accepted the Davidson job following another second-place finish in the conference as Bentley went 8-2 this fall. He coached the NE10’s most valuable player in each of his two seasons as the Falcons’ head coach — linebacker Salvatore Lupoli Jr. and wide receiver Rashon Bradford.
Davidson’s new head coach has NFL experience
Thakkar has worked on the staffs of the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans.
The Wildcats’ new head coach participated in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, which aims to give talented coaches exposure to NFL training camps and offseason workout programs.
Thakkar sent in a video clip and resume, and was ultimately selected in both 2022 and 2023. The fellowship had him assisting with a specific position group during those respective experiences in Atlanta and Tennessee, where he felt he learned a lot from their assistant coaches.
“Just seeing it from the other side, how the professional programs operate,” Thakkar said. “A great, great learning development experience, and I’m all about that. I want to be able to provide those experiences for our assistant coaches as well. You learn so much when you’re in something for so long.”
He sees the Davidson brand as national — and will build off that
Thakkar has always admired this school.
He knows there are Davidson alumni scattered across the country, while it will always have its base in the Charlotte area. Being in the heart of the talent-rich Southeast region will be key in recruiting, and he’ll continue selling the strong academic school as a nationally-acclaimed university.
“We have a whole country at our fingertips with the way recruiting is now,” Thakkar said. “It’s not like it used to be. Everything’s online. You can find people because we have a good reputation. You can sell that. We can go see people, and really attract people here.
“But I think any successful program has to do a great job in their backyard: For us that’s North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia. We have to do a great job in those four states, making sure that the people who fit us, and we want in those states, we get.”
A multi-sport athlete in high school, Thakkar is a big sports fan
This will be the first time that Thakkar lives outside the Boston area.
A three-time academic all-conference selection as a wide receiver and quarterback at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts, Thakkar has always loved being around sports. He played football, basketball and lacrosse — along with a bit of baseball — growing up in Waltham, a Boston suburb.
Thakkar has been married to his wife, Bobbi-Jo, since 2017, and they’re raising what he called a “sports family.” Their 6-year-old son, Caiden, is already involved in seven different sports; while Ensley, their 4-year-old daughter, is already playing four sports of her own.
“I do have to admit: I am a Boston sports fan through and through,” Thakkar said. “Pats, Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins. I love my Boston sports, but I am looking forward to getting out around here. Not just college sporting events, but looking out and seeing the Panthers, Hurricanes, Hornets. Checking out stadiums, that sort of stuff.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing some new things.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 2:24 PM.
