Update >> UMass has now formally announced the hire.
Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak is expected to be the new head coach at UMass, Pete Thamel shares this morning.
Thamel adds that UMass is working on a five-year deal that will pay Harasymiak between $1.3 million and $1.4 million annually. That salary will put him among the highest paid coaches in the MAC, as Miami (OH) head coach Chuck Martin was the highest paid in the league this past fall and he made just shy of $1.3 million.
At Rutgers, Harasymiak made $1.25 million calling the Scarlet Knights defense.
Harasymiak brings strong region ties to his first FBS head coaching opportunity, as he was the youngest head coach at the Division I level when he took over as the head coach at Maine back in 2015.
Three years after taking over the Black Bears, Harasymiak put together a 10-4 season in 2018 that resulted in an FCS playoff run to the semifinals. The program ended the season ranked among the top 5 in all of FCS.
He left Maine for an opportunity to join PJ Fleck's staff at Minnesota coaching the safeties in 2019, and by 2020 he was elevated to co-defensive coordinator, staying in that role for two seasons.
In 2022, he left to become the defensive coordinator at Rutgers, where he spent the last few seasons under Greg Schiano.
He takes over for former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown, who was making just shy of $900k annually in his second stint leading the program. That salary ranked 97th out of 134 FBS head coaches, and was fourth among MAC programs behind onle Miami (OH), Toledo, and Central Michigan.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.