Image courtesy of UMass Athletics

Steve Tirrell has been named the defensive line coach at UMass. Tirrell had been the Chief of Staff and Director of Football Operations. He was hired in November of 2021 as the Special Assistant to the Head Football Coach.

Tirrell and UMass coach Don Brown go way back. Tirrell played at Plymouth State, where he is a Hall of Famer. He also coached at his alma mater with Brown. 

The two have also coached together at Northeastern and two separate stints at UMass. They are not only colleagues but good friends. When the opportunity for Tirrell to get back on the field presented itself this off-season, it was a no brainer to elevate him.

Aside from coaching with Brown, Tirrell has also coached at Brown University and he was the head football coach at Dean College for six seasons. 

Tirrell inherits a talented group to work with as the Minutemen will look to build on last season’s strong finish.