Report: UMass hires Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak as head coach

The UMass Minutemen have their man. According to a report by Pete Thamel, Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak will be the next head coach at UMass.

This comes after UMass moved on from former head coach Don Brown on November 18, 2024. He was in his second stint as a head coach at UMass, previously becoming a legend for leading the Minutemen to an FCS national championship appearance as the head coach. However, at 6-28 in his second stint, Brown wasn’t able to get things rolling again.

The deal, according to Thamel’s sources, will bring Harasymiak to Amherst on a five-year deal worth between $1.3 and $1.4 million annually. The staff pool is set at more than $2.7 million, which projects to be the highest in the MAC.

Harasymiak has ties to the Northeast and head coaching experience, having led the Maine Black Bears from 2016 through 2018. While there, he had a 20-15 record, including a 10-4 record in his final season there. That year, he led Maine to the FCS playoffs and made the semifinals.

Following the 2018 season, Harasymiak left Maine to become the defensive coordinator at Minnesota before moving to Rutgers.

Prior to becoming the head coach at Maine, Harasymiak was a defensive assistant there, leading the defensive backs unit before becoming defensive coordinator in 2014. That was under Jack Cosgrove, who coached for 23 seasons at Maine, his alma mater. Harasymiak has also been an assistant at Springfield College (MA), his own alma mater, and Marine Maritime Academy.

At UMass, Harasymiak will face a challenge. Generally seen as one of the most difficult FBS programs to win at, the Minutemen haven’t had a winning season since moving to FBS in 2012. Things have been particularly difficult in recent seasons, with the last time UMass won four games in a season being in 2018.

For UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford, this is his third football coach hire. His previous two are Walt Bell and Don Brown. Those two, including interim coaches who replaced them, have gone a combined 8-56.

Next season, UMass will also be transitioning from the ranks of the FBS Independents to the MAC. When the Minutemen first moved to FBS they were a football-only MAC member. Now, the school will be entering for all sponsored sports. That was a move to get football into a conference and signaled an amount of emphasis going into rebuilding the program.

Now, UMass appears to be investing in the program. The Minutemen will have nearly $2 million in NIL/revenue share for the 2025 season and $3 million for 2026. That’s guaranteed money, meaning the program already has it and won’t need to raise the funds.