Editors note: This story is breaking and more information will be added as it becomes available. 

Multiple sources indicate that Joe Harasymiak has been hired as the new head coach of the Massachusetts football team.

After a 16-day search for a new head coach to lead the Minutemen into the Mid-American Conference in 2025, Athletic Director Ryan Bamford has made his decision, first reported by Peter Thamel on X. The UMass athletic department has yet to confirm.

The former Rutgers defensive coordinator and linebackers coach brings ties to football in the New England area from early in his career. The 38-year-old played at Division III Springfield College from 2004-07, making his mark on the field as a team captain before coming back as a graduate assistant.

Harasymiak then went to Maine to join the Black Bears coaching staff, where he worked his way up from defensive backs coach to head coach. He led the program from 2016-18 as the youngest head coach in Division I football at the time, and finished with one FCS playoff berth and a 20-15 record overall.

In his last season as a head coach in 2018, Harasymiak led Maine to a 10-4 record and the team’s first Coastal Athletic Association championship since 2013. He was named FCS coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association.

Harasymiak made the jump to the FBS level for the 2019 season, becoming Minnesota’s safeties coach before moving up to co-defensive coordinator. In 2022 and 2023 with Rutgers, he was a nominee for the Broyles Award, an honor bestowed to college football’s top assistant coach.

In 2023, Harasymiak’s defensive unit ranked 16th nationally in total defense (313.5 ypg), posting its best mark and ranking for a season since 2012.

He’s expected to make between $1.3 and $1.4 million annually, per sources.

This will be Bamford’s third head coaching hire in football, and after a 2-10 season, the athletic director will hope that Harasymiak can turn the program’s fortunes around in 2025 and beyond.

Mike Maynard can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @mikecmaynard.