Reports had circulated earlier in the week that Dan Finn, who had coached the line for the past two seasons, had been relieved of his duties. A season ago, the Utah offensive line struggled mightily at times despite boasting players such as Jeremiah Poutasi and Jeremiah Tofaeono, who many saw as elite talents.
Dave Christensen, the Utes’ new offensive coordinator who was hired in December, is very familiar with Harding. Harding was a graduate assistant at Missouri from 2002-2004 when Christensen led the Tigers’ offense. Over the past five seasons, he has been an assistant at Wyoming while Christensen served as the head coach.
In 2013, Harding was the Cowboys’ co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He played collegiately at Toledo from 1997-2000, where Christensen was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at the time.
“We’re excited to bring Jim Harding on board as our offensive line coach,” Whittingham said in a statement. “Jim is a bright young coach with a solid background and an extensive knowledge of our offensive system.”
Hiring Harding is the latest move in what has been a busy winter for the Utes on the coaching front. When Christensen was brought on, former co-offensive coordinators Dennis Erickson and Brian Johnson were demoted to running backs coach and quarterbacks coach, respectively.
The special teams coordinator position, which was vacated in December when Jay Hill took the head coaching job at Weber State, has yet to be filled. In a press conference last week introducing Christensen, Whittingham indicated he may assume that role.