Joe Harasymiak (born June 23, 1986) is an American college football coach who is the head coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was the defensive coordinator at Rutgers University from 2022–2024. He previously the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Minnesota. In December 2015, Harasymiak became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I football when he was named to the post at the University of Maine.[1] He served as head coach of the Maine Black Bears from 2016 to 2018, leading them to a record of 20–15 in three season. His 2018 Maine Black Bears football team won the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | UMass |
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | June 23, 1986 Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2004–2007 | Springfield (MA) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2008 | Maine Maritime (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Springfield (MA) (GA) |
| 2011–2013 | Maine (DB) |
| 2014–2015 | Maine (DC/LB) |
| 2016–2018 | Maine |
| 2019 | Minnesota (S) |
| 2020–2021 | Minnesota (co-DC/S) |
| 2022–2024 | Rutgers (DC) |
| 2025–present | UMass |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 20–15 |
| Tournaments | 2–1 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 CAA (2018) | |
Early life
editHarasymiak was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He grew up in Waldwick, New Jersey and was a quarterback for the football team at Waldwick High School.[2] He graduated with a physical education degree from Springfield College, where he played football and served as a team captain.[3]
Coaching career
editEarly coaching career
editHarasymiak began his coaching career at the Maine Maritime Academy in 2008 and the following year became a graduate assistant at Springfield College working with quarterbacks and wide receivers
Maine
editHarasymiak was hired by the University of Maine in February 2011 to coach the defensive backs coach. He remained in that position until the end of the 2013 season when was promoted to defensive coordinator for Maine for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, during which time the Black Bears defense finished in the top 3 in conference and top 20 nationwide.[1] He assumed the role of interim head coach in November 2015.[4]
On December 16, 2015, University of Maine Director of Athletics Karlton Creech announced Harasymiak as the head coach for University of Maine football. At the time he was the youngest Division I head coach.[5]
2016
editIn his first year as head coach, Harasymiak led the Black Bears to a 6–5 mark doubled its total from the 2015 season, including a 5–3 record in inter-division games. The Black Bears, ended the year fifth in the CAA standings, totaling the school's most league wins since Maine's CAA title season in 2013.
2017
editIn 2017 the team regressed to a 4–6 record. Though individually, eight Black Bears earned All-CAA honors under Harasymiak's tutelage.
2018
editIn 2018, he led Maine to a 10–4 record, with a 7–1 conference mark and a CAA championship its first since 2013. Maine advanced to its first FCS national semifinal appearance in its history. Harasymiak was awarded FCS coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association after the Black Bears' historic season.
Minnesota
editHarasymiak decided to go to the FBS level and joined the Minnesota staff in December 2018 as the team's safeties coach under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi who he worked with at Maine.[6] In February 2020 he was promoted to Defensive Backs, Safeties and Co-Defensive Coordinator.
Rutgers
editOn January 7, 2022, it was announced that Harasymiak would join Rutgers as the team's defensive coordinator.[7]
UMass
editThe University of Massachusetts Amherst hired Harasymiak as its new head coach on December 4, 2024. He succeeded Don Brown, who was fired after posting a 6–28 record in his second stint with the institution.[8]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | STATS# | FCS° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Black Bears (Colonial Athletic Association) (2016–2018) | |||||||||
| 2016 | Maine | 6–5 | 5–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 2017 | Maine | 4–6 | 3–5 | T–7th | |||||
| 2018 | Maine | 10–4 | 7–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I Semifinal | 4 | 5 | ||
| Maine: | 20–15 | 15–9 | |||||||
| UMass Minutemen (Mid American Conference) (2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | UMass | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Total: | 20–15 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Meet Joe Harasymiak, the youngest Division I football coach". USA Today. December 18, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ "Football: Waldwick H.S. alum named University of Maine head coach". NorthJersey.com. North Jersey Media Group. December 24, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "Joe Harasymiak". University of Maine. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "Joe Harasymiak named new UMaine football head coach". University of Maine. December 16, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "Meet Joe Harasymiak, the youngest Division I football coach". USA Today. December 18, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "Source: Maine head coach Joe Harasymiak leaving for assistant job at Minnesota". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Rutgers football hires Minnesota's Joe Harasymiak as defensive coordinator". 247Sports. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ Vannini, Chris (December 4, 2024). "UMass expected to hire Rutgers DC Joe Harasymiak as head coach: Source". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 4, 2024.