Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Massachusetts Fires Head Football Coach Don Brown

Earlier this week, Massachusetts (UMass) fired head football coach Don Brown after going 6-28 over nearly three seasons.  Here is a look at the Massachusetts football program since 2012 (the first year that UMass joined the Football Bowl Subdivision).  This time period only covers head football coach Charley Molnar (2012-2013), Mark Whipple (2014-2018), Walt Bell (2019-2021), and Don Brown (2022-2024*).  After the figure below is a more detailed look at the UMass football program during head coach Brown's tenure based on the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model using data provided by www.cfbstats.com.  (The vertical school color bars represent seasons where head coaches changed).

Don Brown [2022-2024*]

2022
UMass finished the regular season at 1-11, and were bowl ineligible.  The Minutemen played against an “average” strength of schedule (SOS), meaning that UMass's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "leagues" average SOS.  UMass's only win was over FCS Stony Brook and their worst loss was to #112 ranked Arkansas State (33-35).  UMass was the #130 ranked team overall (a top 10 worst team overall in all of the FBS), with the #131 ranked offense (a top 10 worst offense in all of the FBS) and the #98 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
 
2023
UMass finished the regular season at 3-9, and were bowl ineligible.  The Minutemen played against an “average” strength of schedule (SOS).  UMass's best win was over #41 ranked New Mexico State and their worst loss was to #119 ranked Eastern Michigan (17-19).  UMass was the #123 ranked team overall, with the #95 ranked offense and the #128 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
 
2024*
After a 2-8 start to the 2021 season Brown was fired.  UMass has currently played against an “average” strength of schedule (SOS), meaning that UMass's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "leagues" average SOS.  UMass's two wins were both over FCS teams (Central Connecticut State and Wagner) and their current worst loss was to #119 Mississippi State by a score of (20-45).  UMass is currently the #109 ranked team overall, with the #123 ranked offense and the #94 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.

2024 FBS Head Coach Changes