UMass has fired coach Don Brown, the team announced Monday, two days after an overtime loss to Liberty dropped the Minutemen to 2-8 this season.
Brown went 6-28 in his second stint as the head coach. He previously coached the team at the Football Championship Subdivision level from 2004 to 2008, reaching an FCS national championship game. But he could never get it going at the Football Bowl Subdivision level the second time around.
“I am extremely grateful to Coach Brown for returning to UMass three years ago to help us build back a program he once coached to a national title game,” athletic director Ryan Bamford said in a statement. “Don should have immense pride in the outstanding contributions he has made to advance Massachusetts Football during his three stops in Amherst.
“Upon his return in 2021, we shared a common goal to help UMass football attain conference membership, something that was realized last spring. Largely due to his renowned coaching reputation, Don legitimized our FBS program and Massachusetts football has taken positive steps forward since his return. We are structurally positioned to accomplish our competitive goals as we move into a new league and a new college athletics landscape in 2025.”
UMass football will join the MAC next season. The 69-year-old Brown was previously the defensive coordinator at Arizona and Michigan, part of a long career.
Offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery will serve as the team’s interim head coach.
UMass is possibly the most difficult job in FBS. The Minutemen have not won more than four games in a season since moving up to FBS in 2012.
(Photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
