Don Brown was one of the most successful coaches in UMass football history.
Brown led UMass from 2004-08. The Minutemen were 43-19 during that time, which was the winningest five-year stretch in program history. They won two conference championships and made two appearances in the FCS playoffs.
But now during his second tenure with the program, the team had been 6-28. That led to his firing this week.
“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,” UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said in a press release. “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.”
Here are some coaches UMass might think about as replacements for Brown.
Virginia Tech Running Backs Coach Elijah Brooks
Brooks has been coaching at the FBS level for a few years now and knows the region well.
He’s been coaching running backs at Virginia Tech since last year. Right now, the Hokies are 35th in the nation with 185.3 rushing yards per game. Bhayshul Tuten is in the top 25 in the FBS with 951 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
Before going to Virginia Tech, he was a running backs coach at Maryland for four seasons. He worked with multiple players who went on to earn NFL opportunities.
Previously, Brooks was a head coach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland, where he went 72-20 and won four state championships.
Brooks is ready for an opportunity to coach at UMass.
Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock
Denbrock would make a ton of sense for UMass if he were interested.
He’s worked with offensive linemen, tight ends, and wide receivers over the years at Notre Dame, but he’s also coached at a variety of other schools as well. He was LSU’s OC and tight ends coach before this from 2022-23, and was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Cincinnati from 2017-21.
Denbrock hasn’t been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he has been an associate head coach, including at Notre Dame from 2015-16 and at Indiana State in 2009.
Denbrock’s name has come up plenty of times when it comes to college football hot seats and potential head coaching hires this season. If he were open to taking a G5 head coaching job, UMass would be a good fit.
Indiana Defensive Coordinator Bryant Haines
Haines followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, and he has been stellar as the Hoosiers’ DC thus far.
Going into Week 13, Indiana is in the top 10 in the FBS in terms of scoring defense (13.8 points allowed per game) and total defense (255.5 yards per game allowed).
Before his current job, he was instrumental in JMU’s transition to the Sun Belt. He was promoted to DC and linebackers coach after three years as a co-defensive coordinator.
In just their first season as an FBS program, the Dukes allowed the eighth-fewest yards per game in the country with 290.2 while allowing just 20.9 points per game. They were also top 10 in rushing defense, tackles for loss per game, first downs allowed, sacks per game, third-down defense, and fumble recoveries.
In 2023, JMU was in the top 20 in the FBS with 19.5 points per game allowed and the top 30 in the country with 333.8 yards per game allowed.
Before JMU, Haines worked with linebackers under Cignetti at Elon and was a linebackers coach at UC Davis before that in 2016.
UNLV Offensive Coordinator Brennan Marion
Marion is in just his second season as UNLV’s offensive coordinator. He’s done well with the Rebels and has other coaching experience in the eastern part of the country.
In 2023, UNLV was 44th in the FBS with 412.7 yards per game and 22nd with 34.4 points per game. The Rebels have continued to be successful on offense this season, even after quarterback Matthew Sluka decided to sit out the rest of the year.
Before this, Marion was a passing game coordinator at Texas in 2022, a wide receivers coach at Pitt in 2021, a wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2020, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary in 2019, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard in 2017 and 2018, and a running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016.
Marion has been a name tied to a few head coaching vacancies the past couple years. The expertise he brings could benefit UMass.
Syracuse Offensive Coordinator Jeff Nixon
Nixon has a plethora of experience coaching for NFL and college teams and has worked with plenty of star players.
Nixon is in his first season as the Orange’s OC, and they are 22nd in the country in total offense (445.6 yards per game) and are 36th in scoring offense (31.8 points per game) going into Week 13 of this year. Before coaching at Syracuse, Nixon was a running backs coach with the New York Giants and worked with Saquon Barkley. He also was a coach for the Carolina Panthers before that and was briefly their interim OC while also coaching running backs.
Before that, Nixon called plays as a co-offensive coordinator for Baylor, which ranked 17th in the FBS with 35.2 points per game in 2019. He was in the NFL before that, coaching tight ends for the San Francisco 49ers (2016), running backs for the Miami Dolphins (2011-15), and offense and special teams for the Philadelphia Eagles (2007-10). He also coached running backs at Temple (2006), Chattanooga (2003-05), Shippensburg (1999-02), and Princeton (1998). The former West Virginia and Penn State running back began his coaching career as a student assistant at Penn State in 1997.
Nixon’s offensive knowledge and resume would make him a good choice.
