Don Brown fired amidst 2-8 season at UMass

Don Brown, who was in the third year of his second stint as the head coach at UMass, was fired on Monday. The Minutemen are 2-8 on the season, losing five games to teams from the MAC – the conference they will join next year.

“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,” AD 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.”

The 69-year old Brown went just 6-28 since rejoining the program in November 2021. His first stint in Amherst (2004-08) was when the program played in the FCS and he was able to build the program into a contender, reaching the national title game in 2006 and winning back-to-back conference titles. But given the trajectory of the program and the pending league change, this offseason seemed like a very natural point for a coaching change.

UMass travel to Sanford Stadium next to face #12 Georgia, then host UConn a week later in their final game as a FBS Independent. The Minutemen will be coached by OC Shane Montgomery, who joined the program this year and is a former MAC head coach (Miami OH, 2005-08).

credit to Matthew O’Haren/USA TODAY Sports for the image