AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — The University of Massachusetts has hired Mark Whipple as its football coach. He returns to the school he coached from 1998 through 2003 and led to the Division I-AA national championship in his first season.
UMass moved to the top level of college football when it joined the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012. But the Minutemen went 1-11 in each of their two seasons under Charley Molnar. He was fired Dec. 26.
After leaving UMass, the 56-year-old Whipple worked as quarterbacks coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004-06, offensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008, offensive coordinator at the University of Miami from 2009-10 and quarterbacks coach with the Cleveland Browns from 2011-12.
He did not coach last year.
