Analyst Raises Major Concern About Browns’ QB Coach

The Cleveland Browns are all too familiar with enduring a long losing streak. So, they certainly could empathize with what the University of Massachusetts was dealing with entering the 2026 college football season. UMass took a 16-game losing streak into its game at Rutgers and was considered an almost 30-point underdog.

Instead, the Minutemen turned the tables and upset their Big Ten opponent, posting a 37-21 victory that was likely noticed by Browns quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian. He was the offensive coordinator for UMass last season, when it was 0-12.

Back in the NFL for the first time since the 2018 campaign, that result may not be a good sign for Bajakian, as analyst Jack O’Rourke is revealing major concerns about the Browns’ new QB coach and wishing luck to Deshaun Watson.

“After going 0-12 and not winning a single game last year, UMass walked into Rutgers’ building last night and beat them before the saddest firework show to ever take place and scored 37 points. The first thing you might think is, ‘Wow, great for the Minutemen.’ The second thing you might think is, ‘Hey, they probably got a pretty good offensive coordinator this year. They didn’t win a single game last year.’ And then you might think, ‘What’s that old offensive coordinator doing right now?’ Would you ever think that he’s the quarterback coach prepping Deshaun Watson to go face the Jaguars Week 1? That is right. The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback coach is the 0-12 offensive coordinator from UMass. Good luck, Deshaun,” O’Rourke said.

The Browns new QB coach comes from… 0-12 UMass? #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/FvfGaXA8Aj

— BIGPLAY Cleveland (@BIGPLAYcle) September 4, 2026

Of course, that may be an exceedingly harsh take, even for the Cleveland media. After averaging 11.1 points per game last season, UMass has 56 new players on the team this year, with 30 transfers, including quarterback Pop Watson III.

Bajakian actually left the program to become the quarterbacks coach at Michigan State. Then, after Todd Monken was hired as Cleveland’s head coach in January, Bajakian joined his staff. The two had worked together with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Monken was the offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018 with Bajakian as the QB coach under head coach Dirk Koetter.

With the Bucs, Bajakian developed Jameis Winston, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, as he became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. He has a much different challenge with Watson, a former Pro Bowl veteran who is returning to action after almost two years on the sidelines because of an Achilles injury.

The preseason did little to inspire confidence in this new pairing, as Watson failed to get the ball downfield after struggling with interceptions during training camp. Despite that, Monken almost defiantly named him the starter over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders.

Now, it will be up to Monken, Bajakian and Watson to make sure that the Browns’ season starts like UMass’ did, instead of with a potential losing streak.