Now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled, it’s time for new Massachusetts head football coach Don Brown to get down to the business of getting the program he inherited from longtime friend, boss and rival Mark Whipple in order.

However if intra-state rival Northeastern University, Brown’s former employer, has anything to say about it, the 2002 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year will not get the chance to make the defending A-10 champion Minutemen his own anytime soon.

Reports out of Boston has NU athletic director Dave O’Brien claiming that UMass asked for, and was denied, permission to speak with Brown about its vacant head coaching position. If this is indeed true, both the University and Brown would be in the red for a various array of violations, including breach of contract in the coach’s case.

It was Northeastern’s understanding, according to O’Brien, that contract extensions and pay raises awarded to Brown and his staff signified that the fourth-year Husky coach and his assistants would remain in Brookline and not seek employment elsewhere.

“We certainly feel as though we had a valid contract with Don Brown and he breached the contract,” O’Brien was quoted as saying. “UMass intentionally interfered with our contractual obligation with Don Brown.”

New UMass athletic director John McCutcheon, who was appointed just last week, said that negotiations with Brown began before his tenure in Amherst officially started, and that, “Northeastern has a right to do what they want, but we did this because this is in the best interests of our football program.”

So what does this mean for UMass football both in the short term and over the long run? For one, it likely does not mean that Brown will be returning to NU, as the coach’s resignation clearly indicates his desire to coach in Amherst, but rather that O’Brien will seek some sort of restitution from UMass, be it financial or otherwise.

“We intend to review our legal options in addressing the ethical and legal concerns stemming from UMass’ actions,” O’Brien added.

The particulars involved in this situation are sure to be ironed out in the coming days, and the answer will lie somewhere in the gray area between the contract Brown signed that NU claims forbid him from vacating his position, and whether or not UMass needed permission to speak to its former employee in regards to its football coaching position.

Regardless, few at this time are familiar with, or willing to speak about, these particulars. Brown, for one, was not interested in discussing the situation following his introductory press conference.

“I’m leaving behind some players and I’ll miss our relationship, but obviously I’m excited about this challenge [at UMass],” he said. “I appreciate all that Northeastern gave me, but I’m not going to comment on the particulars of a contract that should remain confidential.”

In the meantime, Brown must begin the uphill battle of assembling a staff, speaking with concerned potential recruits and otherwise managing to maintain the upkeep of a program that has been without a coach for a month, and do so within a very small window of time.

The fact that the Minutemen once again return a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball – all of which are players who are holdovers from one of the more organized regimes in the A-10 – makes this task easier for Brown, as does his familiarity with the area, facilities and the UMass program. However the timing of the move – smack dab in the middle of recruiting season and winter workouts – prods Brown to move swiftly and do his best to ignore what potentially could go on around him.

“Obviously I’ve got to get things done on short notice,” Brown said. “I’ve got to meet with the players that are here to let them know that we have direction…and that we have focus.

“[Also] I’ve got to get a staff in place, and that needs to be done as soon as possible. I need to surround myself with people that are going to do it my way.”

As far as his new players are concerned, the mere number of them who were present at his press conference and nodded their heads in simultaneous approval each time he discussed his future plans for them provides an early glimpse at what McCutcheon and those around UMass football hope will be a perfect match.

If that is indeed so, all that will be left will be for Brown to put what he has in mind for this team into action on the field.

“That’s the thing that I’m most excited about…working with the guys and getting my philosophy in place,” he said. “I’m excited about coaching these guys, and nice thing is that I know what its all about here; there’s not going to be a period of strangeness.

“It’s really just getting my schemes in on both sides of the ball, and getting the guys comfortable with the verbiage that’s most important.”

In regards to his coaching staff, things may begin to get trickier. Brown obviously has a staff he knows and trusts from his time at Northeastern, and that will surely mean that many if not all of those coaches currently on staff that were hired by Whipple could possibly be let go.

“[The coaching staff situation] is an evaluation process that I’m going through right now,” Brown said. “I’m going to chat with everyone on staff here [on Tuesday] that’s interested in chatting with me, and obviously I have a staff in place as well so I need to sit down and evaluate that over the next 48 to 72 hours.”

Another area of concern are incoming freshmen recruited by Whipple, such as heralded La Salle (R.I.) quarterback Liam Coen, who verbally committed to UMass and decided against signing their official Letter of Intent until a new coach was named.

Brown, however, is not concerned.

“[The recruiting situation] is something that’s going to be addressed [right away],” he said. “A lot of that can be helped by just sharing my philosophy and getting to know those guys and getting them on campus to let them know that UMass football is going to be strong and that we have direction.”

All in all, Brown is now officially entrenched in the tumultuous world of UMass athletics. Much of what he will choose to do and not do over the next few weeks and months will go along way in determining his success in Amherst, but for the veteran coach, the goal remains the same as it’s always been.

“For any I-AA program in the country, the goal is to make the national playoffs, win a conference championship and get back to Chattanooga,” he said. “I’m driven in that area, I know how to get there, I was part of five playoff wins here and obviously I’ve taken a lot of the lessons [coach Whipple] and I went through in that run of two years and hopefully I’ll be able to use that in my experience here.”