New UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak announced a trio of staff additions on Thursday in a statement released by the program. Joe Castellitto (Special Teams Coordinator), Tre Bell (Cornerbacks) and Kayon Whitaker (Defensive Analyst) are all joining this new era of Minuteman football. Castellitto spent the previous two seasons at Dartmouth  under the late Buddy Teevens. Castelitto joined the Big Green as the special teams coordinator and nickels coach initially….

Image courtesy of UMass Athletics By Andrew Guindon NEFJ Staff AMHERST – Recently hired University of Massachusetts Amherst football head coach Joe Harasymiak was officially introduced at a news conference Friday morning. One aspect of the football program was continuously visited throughout the press conference: the beginning of a new era for football in Amherst. UMass Athletics Director Ryan Bamford was adamant that the athletic department is “very serious” about…

Image courtesy of AP Photos By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff The nearly two and a half week search for the next UMass football head coach finally came to an end on Wednesday morning as they named Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak to lead the program. On the heels of what felt like a never ending news cycle of blunders and misunderstandings throughout multiple levels of the program the past couple…

By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff UMass interim head coach Shane Montgomery took to the podium on Monday for the final game week press conference of the season to discuss Saturday’s loss at Georgia, as well as the final game of the season against UConn. Montgomery opening thoughts “Looking back at the Georgia game, from what I said after the press conference to the team, I was really proud of the…

By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff Kickoff: A turbulent week off the field finally comes to a close for the UMass Minutemen who travel to Athens, Georgia to take on the Bulldogs. Interim head coach Shane Montgomery will do his best to lead a team against a powerhouse Georgia program looking for style points to add to their College Football Playoff resume. 1st Down: Minutemen true freshman quarterback AJ Hairston may not have…

UMass parted ways with Don Brown on Monday. The move caught many people by surprise. Now athletic director Ryan Bamford needs to hire a replacement to guide the program into the MAC Conference and into the future. The UMass job is not easy but with the right coach and more of a commitment, the program could get on a path to success.  Here are 15 names that could be linked…