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Football Joe Harasymiak to be UMass next Head Coach

Any thoughts if he will stick around for the bowl game?
 
Would have been nice to wail til tomorrow at least so it didn’t overshadow NSD.
 
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It's not fair to say the defense took a step back when you consider all the injuries the defense endured. If just 2 or 3 fewer injuries, the season might have been even more impressive.
I think he is a very good coach and the injuries played a role. However, I think there were some other problems regarding some poor tackling and some experienced players being inconsistent. Injuries are part of the game. The last 2 wins for RU were against teams that had their entire secondaries wiped out by injuries. RU doesn’t have a monopoly on injuries.
 
Make the move a trade.
Harasymiak leaves for the UMass HC position
Rutgers brings in the UMass HC (Brown) Harasymiak replaces as the RU DC.
Don Brown was a great DC for Michigan and Arizona before he became the UMass HC .
His Wolverine D wasn't that hot in 2020 after having 4 great seasons under Brown , but his 2021 Wildcat D was a good one before moving on to the UMass HC position in 2022
He might be a little seasoned (70) but he was considered one of the top DCs before taking the UMass job.

That said, wishing Joe success as the Minutemen HC
 
I think he is a very good coach and the injuries played a role. However, I think there were some other problems regarding some poor tackling and some experienced players being inconsistent. Injuries are part of the game. The last 2 wins for RU were against teams that had their entire secondaries wiped out by injuries. RU doesn’t have a monopoly on injuries.
And those teams you talk about were trash. On the other hand, Rutgers was a good team that suffered key injuries derailing a promising season. Somehow, Rutgers still found success on the field. Poor tackling mostly falls on young and inexperienced players like DJ, Mascoe, Sanders, etc. As the season progressed, those players improved by leaps and bounds. The inconsistency by experienced players had more to do with guys playing way less than 100%. Aaron Lewis is a prime example of a guy playing below his abilities. Lewis' lack of success can be attributed to his being hurt all year but never begged out. That goes to Powell, Fletcher, Longerbeam, Rogers, and Dixon, to name a few. None of the teams you're speaking about lost almost half their starting 22 for the season or long stretches of the season. We did and kept moving forward.

Needham
Fletcher
Felter
Powell
Longerbeam
Rogers
Dixon
Toure
Bailey
Lewis
 
Well - are we only talking about signing recruits? To me losing a major piece of the coaching staff does change the conversation.
It does change the conversation, but not on the signing day because it's too late in the game for recruits to jump ship unless they are a stud.
 
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murg171-sl73-3779A-i012-001.jpg

My brothers Alma Mater before his stint in the NFL.
I agree with Salvi…. It’s a coaching graveyard with no upside.
He’d be better off going 13-0 at Montclair State
 


Harasymiak is expected to agree to a five-year deal worth between $1.3 and $1.4 million annually, according to sources.

Harasymiak comes to UMass at an intriguing time of transition, as it enters the MAC in 2025. The administration has dedicated significant funds to assuring better success as the school, which has not had a winning season since elevating football to FBS in 2012.

UMass will have nearly $2 million in NIL/revenue share for the 2025 season and $3 million for 2026, according to sources. Those numbers are guaranteed, according to sources, which means they don't have to go out and fundraise.

Harasymiak will also have a staff pool of more than $2.7 million, according to sources, which projects to be the highest staff pool in the MAC by a significant amount.

In the 13 seasons since elevating to the FBS, UMass has never won five games and won four games just twice. Don Brown was fired after going 6-28 and Walt Bell went 2-23.
 
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It's not fair to say the defense took a step back when you consider all the injuries the defense endured. If just 2 or 3 fewer injuries, the season might have been even more impressive.
sure it is as the bench players looked lost and unprepared. Speaking of unprepared, 3 games this year the Defense looked like film study was never considered

ok with him moving on
 
Would have been nice to wail til tomorrow at least so it didn’t overshadow NSD.
agreed.. may not change anything, but still, what if someone was on the fence and looking to flip, and Joe H was talking to them? I know the GS way is to be honest and up front to recruits as early as possible, but the timing still sucks.
 
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If you feel bad about him leaving, just remember that last play against Illinois.. I’m sure we’ll pick up a good DC to replace him.
🤬🤬🤬
That last play was a killer. All day, you haven't been able to pressure Illinois the way you wanted, but still, you sent the house knowing success was a big gamble. It was 4 & 13. Why not drop 8 defenders while rushing 3? You knew Illinois couldn't throw into the endzone because it was 4th down. They needed a first down in the worst way. Play soft man under at the line and tighter as you get closer to the first down marker. Go with 3 safeties at the sticks for the last line of defense. Everyone rallies to the tackle/sticks.
 
Any chance we would play UMass?
Could they play at Foxboro?

We play them at home in 2026 and maybe 2027 I think.

Yes, we have them scheduled just in 2026 as a sacrificial lamb paycheck game on 09/05/2026. No way we'd do a home-and-home with them as there's no benefit for us. Although we are looking for another home game in both 2025 & 2027.
 
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