The Davidson Wildcats (Pioneer Football League) have hired Saj Thakkar as its next head coach. Thakkar spent the previous two years as the head coach of the NCAA Division II program Bentley University in the Northeast-10 Conference.
Thakkar played at Division III Fitchburg State and upon graduation became the special teams coordinator and running backs coach in 2013. In 2015 he was named the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Division III Maritime Privateers. The following season he was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and held the role for two seasons.
In 2018, Harvard hired Thakkar to become the running backs coach. He left that role after the 2022 season to become the offensive coordinator at Bentley, however, that only lasted the spring of 2023 as he was promoted to head coach in April. The Falcons went 6-4 in his first year and finished tied for second in the NE-10. In 2024, Bentley went 8-2 overall and 6-2 to finish 2nd in the NE-10 again.
Thakkar is 14-6 overall and 11-4 in conference games in his two seasons and will replace Scott Abell, who left for Rice (American Athletic). Abell took a program that was 7-43 in the previous five seasons before his hiring and subsequently posted a winning record in all seven seasons he coached Davidson. Abell went 47-28 overall, 35-18 in the PFL, and made 3 FCS Playoff appearances in a row from 2020 through 2022.
Photo Credit to Bentley University Athletics
