UMass is expected to hire Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak as head coach, a person briefed on the decision told The Athletic.
The 38-year-old Harasymiak is a New Jersey native who played college football at Springfield in Massachusetts and has spent most of his career in the northeast. He became Maine head coach in 2016 at 32 years old after five years as an assistant and went 20-15 in three seasons, including a 10-4 record in 2018.
From there, he spent three seasons on the Minnesota staff before joining Rutgers as defensive coordinator in 2022. ESPN first reported the hire.
The school fired Don Brown last month after a 6-28 mark in two-plus seasons. UMass has had little to no success since moving up to FBS in 2012, never winning more than four games in a season. The Minutemen have spent all but four of those years as an independent but will move back to the MAC next season.
This time, UMass is heading to the MAC near the top of the conference in football spending, rather than near the bottom like the last time. From head-coaching salary to staff pool and name, image and likeness money that could top $2 million, the hope is with that spending, the Minutemen will finally be able to find FBS success.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: M. Anthony Nesmith / Getty Images)
