Courtesy of UMass Athletics
UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford announced in a statement on Monday that Don Brown was relieved of his duties. The announcement comes with two games left in the regular season. The Minutemen are at Georgia this week and close out the season at home against Connecticut. Bamford praised Brown for his contributions to the program.
“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,” said Bamford. “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.”
Offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery has been tabbed as the interim coach for the final two games. He is scheduled to meet with the media on Tuesday at 2:30. Montgomery has the unenviable task of getting ready for Georgia on Saturday.
Brown’s dismissal caught people’s attention both regionally and nationally. It was a surprise because of who he is and what he has meant to UMass Football, The reality is however, coaches who go 6-28 in three seasons do not get to keep their job. Clearly, Brown’s stature wasn’t enough for him to save his job.
Many thought Brown would get another year to shepherd the program into it’s return to the MAC next season but it turns out that Bamford and the powers that be at UMass did not see him as the right coach to guide the program moving forward. Someone else will guiding the program in its maiden journey back into the MAC in 2025.
Once the season ends, Bamford will do the requisite national search to find the best possible candidate to lead the UMass football program. The problem is, he is not working with much.
The job is not very appealing right now. The facilities are closer to FCS than FBS caliber. McGuirk Stadium is considered one of the worst stadiums in all of FBS. The fact that Missouri agreed to come here last month still amazes me. The resources are limited and the job will not pay on par with some of the other Group of 5 programs. At best, it is a stepping stone job.
It is why Bamford will have a hard time finding a coach the caliber of Brown. A coach with pedigree and recruiting prowess. Bamford will more than likely have to settle for a young coach looking for an opportunity to build a program and eventually go onto a bigger job.
Firing Don Brown might appease some of the fan base and some alumni but replacing him will not be easy. UMass has a long way to go to competitive. Whomever the next coach is, will have their hands full. The school has to make more of a commitment to improve the facilities and support the new coach and his staff or else nothing will change. UMass will continue to struggle as an FBS program.
Bottom line, the UMass job will be a tough sell. Bamford is going to have to target the right guy in his search or else this will be his last hire. He has to get this one right.