Instead of creating a new thread, just changed the title. Things are moving quickly and posted at the end of the thread on Sunday. Watch-out bottom tier MAC will coming for wins now and will quickly be competitive with the middle tier. Upper tier MAC let see how see do this year.

Quotes from Bob McGovern's umass.247sports article.

Quote:The UMass football coaching search should be wrapped up by the middle of next week.

According to several sources, the university will announce its next coach by Wednesday, Jan. 15, "if everything goes to plan." Preparations for the announcement have already begun.

Perhaps coincidentally, Jan. 15 is also the end of the winter recruiting "dead period," which means UMass' next coach can hit the ground running.

Mark Whipple, a former head coach for the Minutemen, still remains a frontrunner for the position, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation. Don Brown, Boston College's defensive coordinator, has also been mentioned by sources as a candidate, confirming a report by the Daily Hampshire Gazette's Matt Vautour.

Brown was UMass' head football coach from 2004-2008.

Three different current UMass players, speaking anonymously on the matter, each said they had heard Whipple was the leader. One said: "I'm actually hoping he is the coach."

The names and rumors surrounding UMass' coaching search have been swirling since former head coach Charley Molnar was fired the day after Christmas. Here's a rundown of how things have gone so far:

* Jan. 9: Multiple sources told the Maroon Musket that a coach would be interviewed, and sure enough Louisville running backs coach and special teams coordinator Kenny Carter stopped by, according to Jeremy Fowler from CBS. Vautour reports that Don Brown is a candidate and Whipple is expected to interview over the weekend.

* Jan. 8: The UMass Daily Collegian's Mark Chiarelli reports that UNH head coach Sean McConnell will interview for the head coaching gig. Hours later, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported that McConnell turned down the offer to interview. CoachingSearch.com also broke the news that Rob Ambrose was staying put.

Jan. 2: Sources tell Vautour that Mark Whipple will interview the following week. According to the report: "Whipple is expected to meet with athletic director John McCutcheon and Bill Carr, president of Carr Sports Associates, either in Indianapolis prior to the American Football Coaches Association convention or in Hartford, Conn."

* Dec. 31: The university names members of the advisory committee, which "will play a key role in the process of hiring a new head football coach." On the committee are several former football players, including Bob Foote, Dennis Keating, tom Mullen and Darryl Thomas.

* Dec. 26 - Dec. 30: Names start circulating regarding UMass' next coach. Out of the gates, Whipple and Brown are listed as early favorites. Sources tell the Maroon Musket that Whipple is UMass' guy. Rob Ambrose (Towson HC) and Neal Brown (Kentucky OC) surface on the periphery.

* Dec. 26: Former UMass coach Charley Molnar is officially fired by the university. The school indicated that it had "external sources" provide the money needed to buy out the rest of Molnar's contract, which topped out at approximately $836,000. Sources indicated that Molnar fired defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian and inside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Ted Daisher the previous Friday.

Article link with comments on message board

Sorry but Jan 15th is late, regardless. "Hit the ground running"? There's more than enough to do now for coaches' recruiting efforts.

Good Luck UMass. A good coach that can build a team to win some solid OOC games will help us all.

(01-10-2014 01:52 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  Sorry but Jan 15th is late, regardless. "Hit the ground running"? There's more than enough to do now for coaches' recruiting efforts.

We are still signing recruits without a current HC.

Quote:Alex Kenney, a wide receiver at Penn State, told the Maroon Musket that he will use his final year of eligibility to play football for the Minutemen.

Kenney saw the opportunity that UMass offered to players like Mike Cox (Michigan) and Deion Walker (Notre Dame) and felt he could benefit from a season with the Minutemen as well.

"That's one thing that coach Plummer had mentioned that caught my attention. I did some research and saw that there have been numerous fifth-year kids that went to UMass and became successful. That was a big part of my decision," he said.

Kenney, who also runs track at Penn State, said he will bring "speed and maturity" to UMass. He said he played a lot of slot receiver for the Nittany Lions but hopes he can play outside a bit for the Minutemen.

Commit several days ago

Quote:Alex Kenney, a wide receiver at Penn State, told the Maroon Musket that he will use his final year of eligibility to play football for the Minutemen.

Kenney saw the opportunity that UMass offered to players like Mike Cox (Michigan) and Deion Walker (Notre Dame) and felt he could benefit from a season with the Minutemen as well.

"That's one thing that coach Plummer had mentioned that caught my attention. I did some research and saw that there have been numerous fifth-year kids that went to UMass and became successful. That was a big part of my decision," he said.

That's dandy. What was UMass' record w/ those guys?

Very good, National Champs and in play offs and in Champsionship game again. Need to get back to work and perhaps LM or others can fill it in with specifics.

Definitely late. CMU hired Enos on Jan 11 and that class was kind of a wash. He was able to hang onto a few but really couldn't put together a quality class. We got a QB that is throwing javelin for us now. I think WMU hired Fleck mid Dec and he didn't have time to put together a decent class last year.

Doesn't matter anyway, Molnar was always late in recruiting and merely targets those the other MAC programs target.

Bob McGovern tweets:

Quote:SOURCES: UMass will announce its next head football coach on Monday at 11 am. No name yet. "Contract details" being worked out.

Adding detail from Matty Vautour Hamshire Gazette article.
Eventhou it says the Bob McGovern report is premature, all signs are pointing that way. It's been loud and constant.

Quote:Mark Whipple, the University of Massachusetts’ former and perhaps future football coach, was on campus Friday to interview for the program’s vacant head coaching job, according to multiple UMass sources.

Whipple interviewed with athletic department staff as well as UMass system president Robert Caret, and toured the new facilities building, which is under construction, but due to open before the start of the 2014 season.

Whipple is reportedly the last candidate to interview. It is unclear how many candidates met with UMass officials on or off campus. Boston College defensive coordinator Don Brown and Louisville special teams coordinator Kenny Carter are believed to have been interviewed.

As of Friday evening, Whipple had not been offered the job, but was still believed to be the leading candidate.

UMass athletic director John McCutcheon declined to be interviewed Thursday and Friday. Two school officials called a Maroon Musket report that the school had already planned a Monday morning press conference, premature.

Whipple, who coached UMass from 1998-2003, led the Minutemen to the 1998 Division I-AA championship as well as two other postseason appearances. He was 49-26 in six seasons.

After leaving UMass, the 56-year-old Brown University graduate spent three seasons working as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach; two seasons as an offensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles; two years as the University of Miami’s offensive coordinator; and two years as the quarterbacks coach of the Cleveland Browns.

He didn’t coach in 2013.

UMass is expected to introduce its new football coach early next week.

STILL RECRUITING — Dave Sollazzo doesn’t know if he’ll still be coaching at UMass next year or even next week. The veteran football coach has coached the defensive line under Charley Molnar for the past two seasons, but Molnar was fired on Dec. 26 and UMass is looking for a replacement.

UMass will ask whoever it hires to consider keeping Sollazzo and the other four full-time assistant coaches that Molnar hadn’t fired before getting his own pink slip, but there are no guarantees. Still, that group is working to retain the recruits who’ve already verbally committed to UMass and entice some more to do the same.

“If you’re a recruiter, you’re a recruiter. In recruiting you have to overcome obstacles. At the end of the day, you have to find a way to keep everyone’s interest,” said the 58-year-old former long-time Maryland assistant. “This is an easy school to sell because it’s a great academic school with so much going for it. The kids love it here.”

Sollazzo said he appreciated that the administration still trusted him to represent the school after Molnar’s dismissal.

“We appreciate that. We put our whole heart and soul into this from day one. We’ve had some good recruiting classes and we’re on our way to having another one,” he said. “I think the administration recognizes we’re getting quality football players.”

Sollazzo said he and the other assistants have put off looking for new jobs that they might need if they’re not retained.

“That’s the way I’ve done it. I’m going to entrench myself in the job that I have, not go looking for the next job,” he said. “If I’m a coach at another school and I see a guy doing that, that’s a guy I want working for me.”

Sollazzo hoped for a chance to stay.

“I like it here. I’m going to do everything I can to stay here,” he said. “I think this is a great school and the sky is the limit here. I think it’s a sleeping giant.”

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com.

article story is from

Steve Buckley from the Boston Herald is tweeting.

Quote:According to sources, Mark Whipple will be named next head football coach at UMass.

Others are tweeting as well.

Mark Whipple name has been coming up constantly and loudly. Looking forward to see if Don Brown comes in as DC. Really hope so, it will be a great combo along with some of the other coaches still on staff and some with connections to Brown from Maryland.

@BuckinBoston

(01-10-2014 10:20 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  Steve Buckley from the Boston Herald is tweeting.

Quote:According to sources, Mark Whipple will be named next head football coach at UMass.

@BuckinBoston

Good hire. Congrats.

Lots of confirming tweets and some in print.
From the Hampshire Gazette.
Mark Whipple agrees in principle to become UMass football coach again

umass.247sports - Bob McGovern

Quote:Mark Whipple will return as the head football coach for the University of Massachusetts.

The news, originally reported by the Boston Herald's Steve Buckley, was confirmed by two sources who both said Whipple will be announced as the head coach on Monday, but there are still "a few things to work out" in contract negotiations.

DEVELOPING

From Sportshub Radio that Whipple but no Don Brown.

Quote:I'm told there is little to no chance that Don Brown will join Whipple's staff. Brown was very interested in returning, but as the HC.

Marc_Bertrand Tweets

Glad to have coach Whipple back. Should be a bright future for UMass Football!!

Players are tweeting about the coach and in support of Sollazzo.

Nice hire, good luck to him.

There are a number of reports of a number of assistant coaches and will quote Bob McGovern's artilce and then link in UMasshoops.com Football thread.

Quote:It looks like UMass is continuing to reach back to the future.

According to a report by CoachingSearch.com, Tom Masella, associate head coach for Wagner College, has accepted the defensive coordinator position with the Minutemen.

Masella was the defensive coordinator for Mark Whipple for two years at UMass in the early 2000s. Whipple has reportedly agreed to be the new head coach at UMass.

During Masella's two seasons in Amherst, the Minutemen had an 18-7 record. Three of his defensive players were named First-Team All-Atlantic 10 and four others were named to the Second and Third-Team All-Conference squads.

Masella has had a long, and interesting, coaching career. He was the head coach at Fordham, Boston University, Central Connecticut and Fairfield (However, he never actually coached a game for Stags, opting instead to take a job with the Terriers).

He was BU's last football coach. In their last game, the Terriers smashed UMass, 33-8, in Boston University's 1997 home finale.

The next year, UMass won the I-AA National Championship in Whipple's first season as head coach.

Masella

Whipple is back and assistants being named

Some of it is rumors so only posted like to thread that gets updated and will post this tweet.

Quote:Bob McGovern ‏@BobMcGovernJr 2h
.@GazetteUMass' sources are debunking @footballscoop rumor on McGrath. Folks are telling me that current coaches are meeting Whip tonight.

It's being posted that Sollazzo is likely to be retained. Should know more after this meeting and press conference set for Tuesday 11 am. Believe most of the coaching staff will be in place.

Quote:Daniel Malone ‏@Daniel_Malone 41m
Player favorite. // @In52wetrust: Sollazzo just told me he's staying !

Quoting an interesting post.
Berkman's post.

Quote:Here is some stuff I overheard standing out in the hallway during halftime. Supposedly Whip is going to bring in Marsella (? ? spell ?) who was his defensive co-ordinator for a couple of years and left to be head coach at Fordham also Liam Cohen, Marcell Shipp and maybe his son who is at Pittsburgh but he will need a waver so he don't get charged with nepotism. He is supposed to meet individually with the remaining coaches to see if he wants to keep any of them and also with each player to see how they will fit in. Also he is trying to convince a fifth year QB to come but has competition from another school.

Whipple Assistant thread on umass.247sports.com.
Whip Assistant thread

Looking forward to tomorrow's press conference, even if I have to catch it on Youtube later in the day.

From Bob McGovern sources.

Quote:Mark Whipple will re-hire a former Charley Molnar assistant, according to two sources close to the situation.

Ted Daisher, the inside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator for UMass last year, will join Whipple's staff. It's unclear what his position will be, but he and defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo have reportedly been given spots.

Daisher and defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian were fired by Molnar days before UMass parted ways with the second-year head coach. Sources say Whipple asked him to come back and be part of the staff.

This will be Daisher's third year with the program. During his first season, he was the team's safeties coach.

Ted Daisher is rehired

This has been posted on umasshoops of the time when Whipple went to Miami as O.C. There is a lot of good stuff especially after the picture of Todd Bankhead and Mark Whipple. Interesting is that Todd came in the same year as Whipple as a JUCO QB.

Interview from Hurricanes

Press conference link and later will post youtube.
Whipple Press Conference
Packed Media room.

Link of links to all the Press Coverage



UMass Football Alumni high praise - short clip

Why is it all the chairs are facing forward and the person that's speaking is making everyone sit sideways?