The head football coach this week is due a $1.4 million buyout from the school, according to a spokesperson.
Don Brown still had a couple years left on his contract. With two games left in the season, UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford announced the "," with offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery named interim coach.
UMass might not owe Brown the full buyout. If he secures another coaching position, his new salary would be deducted from what UMass owes, according to athletic department spokesperson Daniel Colleran.
Colleran did not have information about where that money would come from.
At a press conference Tuesday, Montgomery began by thanking Brown, who hired him last winter.
"We owe a lot of gratitude to him for what he poured into this program, and we wish him and his family well as he moves on," he said.
Brown had two previous stints in Amherst, as defensive coordinator from 1998-1999 and as head coach from 2004-2008 — when he accumulated a 43-19 record.
In his most recent run at UMass, with the school now playing in college football's top division, Brown's record was 6-28.
Montgomery said the players took the news hard.
"It's never an easy time and you never know how they're going to react," he said. "The first is they're in a shock and then ... there's probably some anger. Then you've just got to try to reel them in and try to get this thing going back and getting ready for Saturday."
On Saturday, UMass heads south to play 8th-ranked Georgia.
Asked about how the coaching staff reacted to Brown's firing, Montgomery acknowledged some "tough" feelings.
"When you're married or you're engaged and you've got kids and you've got a family — I mean, the uncertainty and, you know, what's it going to be like in a month?" he said. "That's the biggest thing. But when you get into this profession, you realize this could happen."
A national search for a new head coach is underway.
Colleran said several upcoming dates influenced the timing of the leadership change. He said there's a need for UMass to be "organized and positioned" for the signing period for high school seniors, which begins Dec. 4, as well as the transfer portal window, which opens Dec. 9.
During the transfer window, UMass could lose current players to another college or university. UMass could also attempt to attract new students.
In recent years UMass has been one of college football's few independent schools. That changes next season, when the school joins the .
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