Massachusetts: a football coaching history
See Massachusetts’s full 91-year Zeitgeist History →← all coaches
Stature and coaches, 2012–2026
The program’s standing over time, with every coach’s tenure beneath it — read down to see who was there for each rise and fall.
DynastyBlue BloodPower ProgramNational ProgramRegional Program
Run↔pass identity, by season
Every coach
Big movers show how many stature points they built or lost against what they inherited; steadier tenures show the tier they reached instead. A small blue arrow marks a real System Shift at that changeover — how hard the offense’s run/pass identity flipped.
2025–now
4-16
2022–2024
Don Brown Steady
Don Brown held Massachusetts at Regional Program VI for 3 seasons.
2022 offense ranked in the 3th percentile nationally — historically bad
+0.6 pts over 3 seasons · top 31% of 3-5-season tenures (717 in sample)
Closest comparable run: Lou Tepper’s Illinois run (1992–1996)
3rd-best Massachusetts tenure of 3 by the numbers.
Followed Walt Bell (2019–2021) · succeeded by Joe Harasymiak (2025–now).
System Shift, on arrival
System Shift, on departure
| Season | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||
| Record | 1-11 | 3-9 | 2-8 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #115 | #126 | #126 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||
| Pass rate | 34.8 | 47.2 | 40.4 | |
| Coordinators | ||||
| OC | Steve Casula | Steve Casula | Shane Montgomery | |
| DC | Keith Dudzinski | Keith Dudzinski | Keith Dudzinski | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||
| Offense | 3 | 34 | 50 | |
| Defense | 30 | 11 | 8 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||
| 1st-down pass% | 26.7 | 43.6 | 38.8 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 27.0 | 31.0 | 29.1 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 41.5 | 20.0 | 39.5 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Underperforms his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Offense vs. talent
-13.6 pts
#160 of 208 · bottom quarter
Defense vs. talent
-27.5 pts
#194 of 208 · bottom quarter
Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.
Roster construction · portal era
A portal-built roster.
Portal arrivals
69
2.9★ avg rating
Portal departures
57
left via the portal
Net portal flow
+12
#31 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in
Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.
Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.
Avg. size (raw)
6′2″, 231 lbs
across 54 of 69 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
+0.5 lbs
#224 of 255 · bottom quarter
Avg. class year
Sr
#1 of 255 · top quarter
Top states: FL (14), MA (5), MD (4), CT (4), MI (3)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
51.4
position-weighted
Talent lost
52.2
position-weighted
Net
-0.7
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Ryan Jankowski (QB) from Akron
Biggest loss: Chase Brewster (QB) to Missouri State
Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
209 lbs
6′3″ avg · #487 of 767 · middle half
Running back
213 lbs
5′11″ avg · #169 of 791 · top quarter
Wide receiver
183 lbs
5′11″ avg · #746 of 791 · bottom quarter
Tight end
232 lbs
6′3″ avg · #696 of 731 · bottom quarter
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
312 lbs
6′4″ avg · #267 of 779 · middle half
D-line
263 lbs
6′2″ avg · #727 of 753 · bottom quarter
Linebacker
230 lbs
6′2″ avg · #331 of 772 · middle half
Cornerback
190 lbs
6′1″ avg · #376 of 771 · middle half
Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Buys Athlete via the portal
75%
#1 of 146 stints
Buys Tight end via the portal
80%
#12 of 188 stints
+0.6
6-28
2021
Alex Miller Short tenure
2021 defense ranked in the 2th percentile nationally — historically bad
0-3
2019–2021
Walt Bell Steady
Walt Bell slid the Minutemen from Regional Program V to Regional Program VI in 3 seasons.
2019 defense ranked in the 0th percentile nationally — historically bad
−6.4 pts over 3 seasons · bottom 28% of 3-5-season tenures (717 in sample)
Closest comparable run: Sylvester Croom’s Mississippi State run (2004–2008)
2nd-best Massachusetts tenure of 3 by the numbers.
Followed Mark Whipple (2014–2018) · succeeded by Alex Miller (2021).
System Shift, on departure
System Shift, on arrival
| Season | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||
| Record | 1-11 | 0-4 | 1-8 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #112 | #100 | #116 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||
| Pass rate | 47.7 | 46.1 | 44.3 | |
| Coordinators | ||||
| OC | — | Angelo Mirando | — | |
| DC | Aazaar Abdul-Rahim / Tommy Restivo | Tommy Restivo | Tommy Restivo | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||
| Offense | 2 | 1 | 13 | |
| Defense | 0 | 35 | 2 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||
| 1st-down pass% | 45.1 | 47.4 | 44.7 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 38.8 | — | 34.3 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 48.0 | — | 56.0 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Underperforms his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Offense vs. talent
-28.3 pts
#198 of 208 · bottom quarter
Defense vs. talent
-23.1 pts
#183 of 208 · bottom quarter
Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.
Roster construction · portal era
A typical amount of portal roster-building.
Portal arrivals
11
2.7★ avg rating
Portal departures
21
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-10
#112 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in
Brings in bigger-than-position-typical players than most.
Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.
Avg. size (raw)
6′2″, 211 lbs
across 5 of 11 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
+8.1 lbs
#37 of 255 · top quarter
Avg. class year
Jr
#5 of 255 · top quarter
Top states: GA (2), NJ (1), CA (1), MI (1)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
22.9
position-weighted
Talent lost
41.3
position-weighted
Net
-18.4
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Bryce Watts (CB) from North Carolina
Biggest loss: Will Koch (QB) to the portal
Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.
Does the system survive a coordinator change?
DC: Aazaar Abdul-Rahim (co) / Tommy Restivo (co) → Tommy Restivo · 2020
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
205 lbs
6′3″ avg · #592 of 767 · bottom quarter
Running back
216 lbs
6′0″ avg · #106 of 791 · top quarter
Wide receiver
190 lbs
6′0″ avg · #540 of 791 · middle half
Tight end
244 lbs
6′5″ avg · #427 of 731 · middle half
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
313 lbs
6′4″ avg · #218 of 779 · middle half
D-line
288 lbs
6′2″ avg · #301 of 753 · middle half
Cornerback
190 lbs
6′0″ avg · #379 of 771 · middle half
Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Buys Athlete via the portal
17%
#30 of 146 stints
Grows Safety from high school
80%
#177 of 218 stints
Grows Edge from high school
100%
#191 of 208 stints
2 NFL Draft picks: Isaiah Rodgers (2020), Larnel Coleman (2021)
−6.4
2-23
2014–2018
Mark Whipple Steady
Mark Whipple slid Massachusetts from Regional Program IV to Regional Program V in 5 seasons.
No outlier style signal this stint
−1.4 pts over 5 seasons · top 40% of 3-5-season tenures (717 in sample)
Closest comparable run: Scott Satterfield’s Louisville run (2019–2022)
1st-best Massachusetts tenure of 3 by the numbers.
Followed Charley Molnar (2012–2013) · succeeded by Walt Bell (2019–2021).
System Shift, on arrival
System Shift, on departure
| Season | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 3-9 | 3-9 | 2-10 | 4-8 | 4-8 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #119 | #107 | #86 | #110 | #108 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||||
| Pass rate | 56.0 | 55.8 | 54.4 | 51.7 | 50.1 | |
| Coordinators | ||||||
| OC | — | — | — | — | — | |
| DC | Tom Masella | Tom Masella | Tom Masella | Ed Pinkham | Ed Pinkham | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||
| Offense | 37 | 22 | 37 | 75 | 56 | |
| Defense | 29 | 43 | 29 | 57 | 17 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script | ||||||
| 1st-down pass% | 57.3 | 51.9 | 55.2 | 52.9 | 48.6 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 54.9 | 49.6 | 58.2 | 52.9 | 38.1 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 56.1 | 44.2 | 43.2 | 37.8 | 46.4 | |
Recruiter or developer?
Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Offense vs. talent
+7.7 pts
#71 of 208 · middle half
Defense vs. talent
-4.6 pts
#126 of 208 · middle half
Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.
Does the system survive a coordinator change?
DC: Tom Masella → Ed Pinkham · 2017The system held
2-season window either side.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Tight end from high school
100%
#164 of 188 stints
Grows Edge from high school
100%
#191 of 208 stints
2 NFL Draft picks: Tajae Sharpe (2016), Andy Isabella (2019)
−1.4
16-44
2012–2013
Charley Molnar Short tenure
2012 offense ranked in the 0th percentile nationally — historically bad
2-22