Image courtesy of Bentley Athletics.
Saj Thakkar has been named the new head football coach at Bentley University. Thakkar was hired as offensive coordinator earlier this year and was named interim head coach in April. After a nationwide search, he was officially appointed to the top job today.
We briefly caught up with Thakkar this morning at the Best of New England camp. He was genuinely excited about being named the new head coach and getting the opportunity to lead the program.
In a statement released by the school, Thakkar expressed his gratitude for getting the opportunity to lead the Bentley Football program.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be the next head football coach at Bentley,” said Thakkar. “Bentley is truly a special place with special people. My family and I look forward to continuing to build relationships at Bentley and around Waltham.
Thakkar, 32, spent five seasons (2018-22) as running backs coach on Tim Murphy’s staff at Harvard. He credits the legendary Crimson coach for shaping much of his philosophy.
Prior to that, Thakkar coached for three years (2015-17) on the staff at SUNY Maritime.
Bentley Athletic Director Vaughn Williams is excited to be working with Thakkar and cited his experience as a Division 1 and Division 3 coach as the reasons why he is a good fit at the school.
“I’m excited that Coach Thakkar will be the leader of our football program,” said Williams. “He has succeeded as an assistant coach at both the Division I and III levels, and has done an excellent job overseeing our program as the interim head coach.”
Thakkar is no stranger to New England college football. Aside from his time at Harvard, he earned his MBA and Bachelor of Science degree from Fitchburg State, where he was a three-time academic all-conference selection as a wide receiver and quarterback.
Bentley has gone 21-5 since the midway point of the 2019 season. The won the NE-10 in 2019 and made the 2021 NCAA Division II playoffs. Thakkar inherits a good program.
The Falcons kickoff the 2023 season on September 2 with a home game against West Chester University.