P.J. Stanley/Collegian

Three weeks after pulling out of the running for the head coaching vacancy at Yale, Don Brown pulled out of his position as the University of Massachusetts coach to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Maryland.

In five years as UMass head coach, Brown reached the national championship game in 2006, made another playoff appearance in 2007 and finished his tenure with a 43-19 overall record.’
UMass athletic director John McCutcheon released a statement after Brown’s announcement on Jan. 9.

‘We want to thank Don Brown for his contributions to the University of Massachusetts and the athletic department as the head coach of the Minutemen,’ McCutcheon said. ‘He has prepared us for great success in the future. We wish him good luck in his new endeavors. A national search for his successor is already underway.”

Brown also released a statement.

‘I am extremely proud of my time at UMass. During the five-year period we experienced tremendous success as a football family. I am proud of the fact that our senior class was the winningest in the history of UMass football,’ Brown said.

‘I want to thank Chancellor Robert Holub and Athletic Director John McCutcheon for their outstanding leadership for the football program and the entire athletic department. I am proud of the fact that I have been a part of every NCAA playoff victory at UMass since 1998. I will always hold a special place in my heart for the University of Massachusetts.”

Maryland, an Atlantic Coast Conference team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, finished the 2008 season with an 8-5 record, including a 42-35 win over Nevada in the Humanitarian Bowl. Its defensive coordinator during the season, Chris Cosh, left to take the same position at Kansas State following the season.

In his final season at UMass, Brown and the Minutemen struggled. Known for his tough defensive teams, Brown and the defense had a down season, finishing with a 7-5 overall record and missing the postseason for the first time in three years.’

The defense allowed a Don Brown-era-worst average of 26.8 points per game in 2008, compared to a 19.2 average in 2007, a 13.3 average in 2006, a 13.3 average in 2005 and a 23.3 average in his first season in 2004.

Eli Rosenswaike can be reached at [email protected].