Joe Harasymiak (born June 23, 1986) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach who is the head coach at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. He was the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

from 2022–2024. He previously the co-

and safeties coach at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. In December 2015, Harasymiak became the youngest head coach in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

football when he was named to the post at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

. He served as head coach of the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's Col ...

from 2016 to 2018, leading them to a record of 20–15 in three seasons. His

2018 Maine Black Bears football team The 2018 Maine Black Bears football team represented the University of Maine in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They played their home games at Alfond Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They were le ...

won the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

(CAA) and advanced to the semifinals of the

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

playoffs.

Early life

Harasymiak was born in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

. He grew up in

Waldwick, New Jersey Waldwick () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,058, an increase of 433 (+4.5%) from the 2010 Unite ...

and was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the football team at Waldwick High School. He graduated with a physical education degree from

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

, where he played football and served as a team captain.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Harasymiak began his coaching career at the Maine Maritime Academy in 2008 and the following year became a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

at Springfield College working with quarterbacks and wide receivers

Maine

Harasymiak 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. He assumed the role of interim head coach in November 2015. 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.

2016

In 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

In 2017 the team regressed to a 4–6 record. Though individually, eight Black Bears earned All-CAA honors under Harasymiak's tutelage.

2018

In 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

Harasymiak 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. In February 2020 he was promoted to Defensive Backs, Safeties and Co-Defensive Coordinator.

Rutgers

On January 7, 2022, it was announced that Harasymiak would join Rutgers as the team's defensive coordinator.

UMass

The

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.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Minnesota profile

Maine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harasymiak, Joe 1986 births Living people Maine Black Bears football coaches Maine Maritime Mariners football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches Springfield Pride football coaches Springfield Pride football players UMass Minutemen football coaches Sportspeople from Ridgewood, New Jersey Players of American football from Bergen County, New Jersey People from Waldwick, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey