Harasymiak, whose NCAA career started at the Division III level in Massachusetts, returns to his old stomping grounds to try and revive a proud football program.
Joe Harasymiak is a Nor’easter through and through. Born and raised in New Jersey, he went to college at a small Division III school in Massachusetts before beginning his coaching career at Maine Maritime as a graduate assistant in 2008.
Fast forward to 2025, and Harasymiak is now armed with 17 years worth of experience, including stints as both the youngest head coach in Division I football and as one of the more underrated coordinators at the Power Five level.
Harasymiak finds himself in Amherst, Massachusetts to not only replace a fellow Nor’easter coaching legend in Don Brown, but to resuscitate a once-proud UMass football program which has struggled since making the jump to the FBS level— all while assimilating to a conference schedule for the first time in a decade.
Hustle Belt had the opportunity to catch up with Harasymiak in late May after an offseason recruiting trip, talking over the phone for a one-on-one interview lasting about a half-hour.
The contents of that interview are presented below, lightly edited for clarity:
Hustle Belt: All right, Coach Harasymiak… how have you settled into the new job?
Joe Harasymiak: Yeah, it’s been going really well. You know, it’s good to be back. I went to college down the road in Springfield, Mass., which is about half an hour south [of Amherst.] So it’s good to be back. I mean, it’s going well. When you get here and a bunch of stuff goes down in December and you’re trying to sign a [recruiting] class, that’s… that’s pretty wild. But you know, just being around the guys in the winter workouts and having a successful spring ball, you know, whole new staff… whole new operations staff, everybody… We’re learning each other, but it’s been great and now the guys are at home and resting before they come back for the summer. So we’ve just been on the road and recruiting and you know, looking forward to a little bit of downtime here this Memorial Day weekend.
Briefly, what types of systems will you be running at UMass?
Offensively, Mike Bajakian is our offensive coordinator, so we’re going to be a little bit multiple, you know, multiple personnel groups. Everybody says kind of spread and all that. But we’re you know, we kind of contour that to how we’re going to win a game. So I would say standard offensive stuff. But we will, you know, we’ll use multiple personnel groups and we’ll do a lot of things there.
And then defensively, we’ll be four-down, a 4-2-5 scheme that we’ve been running— myself and Jared Keyte, our defensive coordinator— that we’ve been running together since we were at Maine. So that’s pretty standard; run the same defense at Rutgers, same defense at Minnesota and kind of moving through that. We’ll have our tweaks and that stuff that’s kind of developed over the years. Then… probably most excited about our special teams, you know. In previous years, there was not a true special teams coordinator title, so we’ve hired Joe Castellitto, who came over from Dartmouth, who was very successful there. And you know, we got a couple Australians back there putting it away and, you know, excited about our two kickers that are battling it out, but that overall is going to be a scheme that will be really good for us.
Where do you think the teams as strengths? Currently are right now and where do you think they can improve going into the season?
Yeah, I think the strength right now for our team is they’re coming together. I think there’s been a lot of change.
I would imagine by June 1st when they come back, over half of our roster is new players, where they came in December or this this most recent, you know, portal [window] and then we have our high school kids coming in that we were able to sign in December. So I think just the strength of our team right now is we’re learning each other, but we’re open to that. You know, we’re humble where we can be vulnerable with that and open up and really learn each other.
And then you know, moving forward… It’s just kinda on the same lines like how can we develop the best team for this upcoming season? You know, with everybody being new on the staff and like I said, it’s probably about half the roster. So just you know how how quickly can we come together? But I also think that’s the strength when you have to do it kind of in a time frame that’s not over a year period, you know be probably like an eight-month period. You know I think you grow I think you learn each other. You grow, I think we’re doing a great job with that.
Any players to look out for?
Yeah, I mean, I think offensively will have a bunch of skill guys that that’ll have a chance to to make an impact. That means some guys that have been here— Ja’Quan Gibson, Ty Harding— those types of guys on the outside, you know a bunch of new wideouts too that I’m excited about seeing what they can do.
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Our running back position will be probably be the most new room that we have. I think Kurt Anderson, our [offensive] line coach really developed the o-line. So, really excited about a lot of guys that have been here that stuck around and then I’ll have a chance to push forward.
Defensively, I think Josh Nobles is the guy that’s going to play defensive end position. That’s we’re excited about. Believe he was a 10.5 or 11-sack guy at [HBCU] Jackson State… Something in there in the double-digits. We’re excited about him and then we’ll have some secondary guys we got to figure out, but you know it’s interesting for me too because, you know, I’ve never seen these guys truly play, you know. So it looks great, it looks good right now. But I think what we’re just focused on is trying to be the best version of ourselves as a group.
You mentioned earlier that UMass didn’t have a true special teams coordinator or coach in that situation in their previous situation. Has there been challenges in trying to execute special teams in your winter and spring meetings? How’s that been trying to get that going over there.
You know what? I think Joe Castellitto has done a great job. He’s organized and he’s been through it, so I think that helped with the transition. And I think, you know, special teams is the third game and I’m a defensive guy with my background so I truly believe in it. We spent a lot of time on that. And you know, there’s been some bumps and stuff, you know. You know those things like punt protection and and learning some things on coverage lanes and different things. And you know we’re going to be a big situational focus on special teams and we’ve practiced, you know, different types of field goals that you got to be ready for. But I think overall, it’s been pretty smooth and I think the guys are hungry for it.
I think that’s… again, I think that’s our strength right now. Guys are taking the coaching, they’re attentive and they’re always looking for more and that’s what we talk about, we talk about being obsessed. And when you’re obsessed with something, anything in your life, you’re going to research ways and go out of your way to kind of try and be the best version of yourself, and I think that’s what I’m most excited [about.]
But yeah, I think special teams been a smooth transition.
What is the message that you and your staff are sending to play as you ramp up towards the season?
Yeah, I think again, you know, that kind of coming together piece, learning each other.
You know, we talk about three things here: belief, ownership and sacrifice. Those are our three, cultural pillars, I guess you would say. So, you know, everybody’s a byproduct of their beliefs, right? Our lives and who you are as a player, someone instills those beliefs in you, so we have to instill the right beliefs in our players.
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Ownership, we gotta buy our actions and not rent them and hold each other accountable. Then lastly, the most important part for me is the sacrifice part, you know what I mean? Several guys on the field at once, one guy will get the opportunity to make a play on a given down. If everybody else doesn’t do their job, that usually doesn’t happen. So I think we’re just focusing on those three things. And our message moving forward is always how we grow that, just keep coming together.
What attracted you to this specific job, which made it more desirable than other opportunities that you may have had?
I think back to my background. I went to Springfield, which is a Division III school, and at the time, UMass was I-AA (modern-day FCS), winning national championships, going to national championships going in the playoffs on a consistent basis and you know, when I was at Maine before they moved up to the FBS, we played them a couple of times and just got familiar with the place and it’s got everything that you need to win.
It’s got great facilities, great structure, great campus, unreal education, which I think you know based on this league, where we got to be number one or two in terms of our academic successes. And it’s just kind of a place that now that we’re in the MAC, now that we have direction, I think it’s a place that hopefully we can get going in the right direction.
As you were saying, you’re familiar with UMass, having been over at UMaine for a while over there prior to UMass’ jump up to the FBS… how has it been just from the outside view of being somebody who loves Northeast football like you do watching them make that transition into the FBS and being independent?
You know, I think from my time in Maine when they made that jump, I was in the league for probably two or three years in the CAA with them. We actually also played them at Gillette [Stadium] after they moved up, and then I played them again at Fenway [Park] in 2017 when I was like head coach at Maine (the other time was at defensive coordinator)… But again, it’s always been a place that from afar, there’s a rich tradition, you know.
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Our alumni base is is hugely involved. People love UMass. There’s a lot of great connections, a lot of great people that I’ve met over these last four or five months and I think everyone wanted to get back to what it was at the I-AA level, and I think that comes with being in a league. I think if this job was still independent, I wouldn’t have been as interested as I was in it when I first got approached that with the opportunity.
Then, just from afar, it’s always a place that I believed in that can be great because I’ve seen it be great when there’s direction and support. [UMass athletic director] Ryan Bamford, our chancellor, our trustees… Everybody’s on the same same page and I think that matters. You know, you can’t keep fighting with one hand behind your back; eventually, you get punched. So we needed support, we needed help and credit to Ryan and the administration, they’ve done that and pointed us in the right direction.
We’ve been, we’ve been stepping around it here for a little bit the last couple of questions, so we might as well just get right into it: UMass is in a very unique position, having emerged from independence and are now taking on a conference schedule for the first time in about a decade. How has that transition been so far, and how are you getting your players ready for their new surroundings?
What’s what’s interesting for me is that, you know, they played a bunch of MAC schools over the past. You know, definitely last year about 2-3 years, they’ve sprinkled in some MAC opponents and they were competitive in a lot of them. So I think there’s some familiarity with that from the player standpoint.
Obviously, myself being in the Big 10 the last seven years about, we played some MAC schools. When I was at Minnesota, we lost to Bowling Green, so I know how competitive it is. I know there’s great coaches in this league, and I’m just super excited to be a part of it.
You know, I coached against Toledo and my first year as a head coach when Campbell was there in 2016, they blew the doors off us— we didn’t have a chance. So you know, I’m just excited about being part of it because I think it’s a league that is well-respected and there’s a lot of great coaches and there’s a lot of great players and I’ve and I’ve seen it on both sides; I’ve been I-AA playing up, I’ve been a Power Five coach playing down and now I’m at the level where I’m in the league. I’m excited about the direction that the league is moving and ultimately the direction UMass is moving.
Now, you took over head coaching duties on a permanent basis at UMaine from their longtime head coach Jack Cosgrove when you were 29. You were the youngest head coach in Division I— at both FCS and FBS— at the time of your hire. What did you learn from your first stint as a head coach, which could help serve you and your program here at UMass in the present?
You know, I think the biggest thing for me is I don’t need to know everything. I think sometimes the young coach— especially young, young head coach— people use the term “micromanage” or “hands involved in everything”… I think that’s the wrong approach.
Yes, I am the leader. I’m charge of everything, but I think that’s why you hire great people. I’m excited about the staff we put together from our relationships previously or going against guys. They’re great people, and usually when you surround yourself with great people, good things have a chance to happen.
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So I would say I learned that I have to rely and trust the people I hire, and I need to let them coach, do what they need to do to be successful. Because as an assistant, for me, the last seven years… in the Big 10, I was at my best when I was allowed to do what I needed to do. Obviously, you got to be reliable as a head coach; that’s certainly the #1 priority as an assistant, but I think that that relationship is something that I’m focusing on this time and then doing a much better job at it.
Alright, onto the personal questions here. What was one of the first autographs you got aa kid, and what do you remember about that moment.
That’s a great question. Well, it’s interesting.
My dad works for NBC Sports, so I wouldn’t really say it was autograph, but I used to have some pretty good show-and-tell stuff for elementary school.
I remember I brought a Shaq[uille O’Neal] shoe once… I think we still have it, actually. I think my dad still has it somewhere. So I would say, while not an autograph, I did have a Shaq shoe when I was a little kid.
Do you remember which shoe it was?
I thought it was the black, a little bit of white, some purple in there. I think it was on the Magic. Pretty sure. So the Magic shoe, whatever that is.
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What is the most miserable you’ve been on as a coach on the field? Conversely, what is your happiest moment as a coach?
Miserable is easy… Gave up a Hail Mary against Stony Brook at Maine [in 2020] to lose the game. And then I would say this year against Illinois, [Rutgers] lost on a fourth-and-13. So that’s misery. So we’ll get that out of the way.
Happiest I’ve ever been… Probably winning CAA title with Maine in 2018, we beat Elon, where [current Indiana head coach Curt] Cignetti was at the time. So I know Curt very well, great coach. That was a big win for us to win the CAA and then that same year, when we were at Weber State, we beat them on ESPN on a Friday night where really no one gave us a chance. That was a pretty special locker room.
What’s something you get way too competitive about outside of football?
Golf.
Golf?
I’m not… I’m not very good. I like to think I’m good and I love to play for some keeps to put it that way. But yeah, I’d say golf is my second calling, maybe? I got to get better at it, but golf’s something I get competitive about.
But what is it about golf specifically that brings out that competitive instinct that maybe other things don’t?
I just… You compete and you know, once you’re finished playing… I think one of the reasons I’m coaching is I love to compete. I think I get so frustrated and so competitive because I’m playing myself, and I’m pissed at myself for not playing better, I guess.
So I think it’s just that competitive edge that all the coaches have. I mean. That’s probably why a lot of us are doing this, right? Because we love that that feeling on a Saturday and all those butterflies and all that stuff. It’s kind of like how I feel on every tee box, so that’s probably why it happens.
All right, so this is a bit of a strange one. This is a question from our previous interviewee, Eddie George… If you were an animal, which one would you be?
Oh my God, if I was an animal, I mean… give me like a… Just a… chilled out dog. You know, just a chilled out dog, just chilling.
Eat, get up, nap, walk around, go to the bathroom, have someone else cleaning up, you know? I think that’s a good life, yeah.
So like, someone’s best friend, a dog that’s someones best friend that’ll lie in front of the fire on a cold night. Go out, swim in the summer… I had two labs growing up that were pretty pretty cool. So yeah, I would say the dog. Chilled out dog.
I was just about to say before you brought up brought up labs… is there, like, a specific breed of dog that you had in mind in this scenario?
Yeah, we had black labs growing up. So that’s what my family kind of did. So yeah, maybe just to reincarnate into a black lab. That’d be pretty cool.
What is a time in your life you thought was really challenging, but you feel proud of the way that you responded to it? This can be football-related or non-football related.
Okay, I’ll stick with football.
I think going into the season last year at Rutgers, we had played Top 15 defense the year before over a two-year transition. I forget where they ranked when I first got there, but we changed that into a top 15 defense. I really feel like Coach [Greg] Schiano and myself in our relationship, we knew that, you know, we were the missing piece when I got there. We really changed the ground structure, they’ve been the back-to-back bowl games now, and I feel like I’ve helped with that.
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I think for me last year, you know, we went through some struggles there in the middle of the year that I hadn’t felt in a while. So it was hard. You know, I think what motivates me the most isI hate letting people down, so that was a that was a tough time, I hadn’t really struggled like that in awhile. Then we went to a bye week and we ended up winning three out of four [games] in November. I think previously in the first two Novembers I was there, I think we went 0-8. To be able to do that and push them toward another bowl game, about how the kids stuck with it, I was proud of that.
All right, last question here on the record. If there is one thing a person should know about Joe Harasymiak, what would you say that is?
That I genuinely care about people.
I think in this profession, I think with some of the relationships that I have, I think that’s something that, you know, egos get in the way and I generally care about people, and that’s what I’ve tried to focus on in my time here: getting the right people around our young men that care about them.
UMass Atheltics
That’s something I look for all the time in hiring staff, right? Are they a great husband? Are they a great father? If they’re not, are they a great person if they’re not married or have kids? So I think just that I generally care about people. That’s the way I was raised, credit to my parents. I think when you care about people, when you pour into them and they know… that’s when great things happen. That’s what we’re looking to do here.
Our thanks go out to Daniel Colleran of UMass Atheltics for helping to arrange the interview and provide media for the feature.
As of publication, our next interviewee is unknown, but we hope you look forward to the next edition of this series!