Head Coach Search 2024

[TheInsider]

Brown recruited fast defense that wasn't fast. I guess what's kinda sad is the last 2 games have showed us there is talent on this team. If it was used the right way with good coaching there would have been a few more wins.

[dennisdent]

Talent on offense, not on defense, as they couldn't tackle, or pass defend all season. Everything that Michigan fans said about Brown was proven at UMass the past three years: Game has passed his defense by and he went for size on the backend over speed, and speed over size on the front end. Having LBs that miss tackles, was just icing on the shit defense.

Brown's one year at Arizona the team won one game and gave up a ton of points. It got better, just like Michigan, after he left. Time to find somebody on the way up, who knows how to win at any level in the NCAA divisions.

[TheInsider]

Not sure he would leave after 1 year but I hope they look at Billy Cosh from.Stoney Brook.. took them from ofer last year to ranked this year.. was a OC at Western Michigan and some good FCS programs prior. Look up some of his interviews on YouTube.. really smart and interesting young guy.

[dennisdent]

^Thanks, looks good. The UMass job is the perfect job for an upcoming coach and staff next season going into the MAC. Great school and funded at the top end of the MAC. As a booster, the money is there to be successful. Brown's recruiting budget gave him the ability to recruit all over the country and Europe. He wanted more analysts and support staff, and he was given them. Win at UMass and there will be tons of great national publicity and plenty of high paying job offers for the coach. UMass football needs to get back to the winning mentality it had for 30 years.

[dennisdent]

Just me let state that Brown is leaving the administrative end of the program much better than when he was hired. He did a good job of bringing UMass up to the FBS standards that he worked under since leaving UMass the last time. I give a lot of the credit to the Friends of Football for working with Brown directly.

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

If UMass wins vs UCONN I wonder if Montgomery will get some consideration. They seemed to play really hard for him yesterday and if they pull off the upset vs UCONN maybe he gets a shot? In his 4 years as a head coach in the MAC he finished in 1st place twice - yes he also finished last the other two years but I think anyone here would take 1 first place finish at this point. I feel like this type of hire would be much better than taking a flyer on a Walt Bell up and comer type.

[dennisdent]

There is a huge difference between an upcoming head coach and Walt Bell. Bell was young and good looking, nothing about his career showed that he was an upcoming head coach material. He'll be fired again soon as WMU is 5 - 6 and on a three game losing streak.

Even yesterday Montgomery was making bonehead decisions leaving Harsiton in when Haston should have been in the game running the ball. No to Montgomery!

[Quann]

Just me let state that Brown is leaving the administrative end of the program much better than when he was hired. He did a good job of bringing UMass up to the FBS standards that he worked under since leaving UMass the last time. I give a lot of the credit to the Friends of Football for working with Brown directly.

100% agreement. Don’s a good man who will always be liked all of us.

[dennisdent]

Just me let state that Brown is leaving the administrative end of the program much better than when he was hired. He did a good job of bringing UMass up to the FBS standards that he worked under since leaving UMass the last time. I give a lot of the credit to the Friends of Football for working with Brown directly.

100% agreement. Don’s a good man who will always be liked all of us.

When the team starts winning, and it will, his three years at UMass will be looked back on as the turning point in my view to a full FBS program. He may have lost it as a coach on the field, but he had the experience, respect, and trust of the football supporters and admin to get the program what it needed to succeed. No doubt he will be in the UMass Hall of Fame someday, along with Coach Mac and others.

[Ajmal]

Not sure he would leave after 1 year but I hope they look at Billy Cosh from.Stoney Brook.. took them from ofer last year to ranked this year.. was a OC at Western Michigan and some good FCS programs prior. Look up some of his interviews on YouTube.. really smart and interesting young guy.

I live locally and have been to a few Stony Brook games this year. For what it's worth, the consensus here is that Cosh is the real deal. At his age, I was skeptical when they hired him, but he brought SB out of the absolute gutter, with a fun brand of football, not unlike our new coach did in 1998. That said, he's still young, his staff is young, and it's just the one year. But it was one heck of a year.

[Steve81]

From the Gazette article we learn a lot of things and that the goal is to hire a coach in the first week of Dec.

From the Berkshire Eagle article we learned more about the process and salaries.

"The job is different. We're not an independent any more," Bamford said. "The last two searches, we had been an independent. That was the single greatest impediment in the head coach search process the last two times. Having to answer that question of, 'Are we going to get into a league? Can we get into a league? I don't know Ryan, it looks like you're spending. It looks like there's support. I've looked at your schedules and am I set up for success? Am I going to have a chance to win?'

"I haven't been able to get to certain coaching candidates and get them interested in the job because we've been an independent. Now that we're going into the MAC, the interest in the job is exponentially better, and that's just the reality."

According to USA Today's list of the salaries of Division I-FBS head coaches, Brown was No. 97 among the 134 FBS coaches. His listed base salary of $890,000 would have been fourth among coaches in the Mid-American Conference. Only Miami's Chuck Martin ($1,257,984), Jason Candle of Toledo ($1,125,000) and the now-retired Jim McElwain of Central Michigan ($1,048,493) were higher.

The athletic director said the head coaching salary would be over $1 million and the budget for assistant coaches will grow.

"We'll be the highest salary resourced program in the MAC next year," Bamford claimed.

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/sports/u ... dd6ec.html

[Quann]

^^^^
Hopefully he’s right and being a member in a league gets us better coaching candidates.

[jjmc85]

I think Bamford is right and I think if he gets the right coach that will be step 2 in a very long process in turning things around with the football program. Even with the right coach in place I hope we all remember that this is a process that might take a few seasons.

[Cahoonaville]

https://voiceofmotown.com/neal-brown-to ... eating-up/

[e_parade]

Honestly, proven success at Troy followed by middle ground performance in the B12...also only 44? Could be way worse decisions to be made.

Would be a bit weird to go from Coach Brown to Coach Brown though.