AMHERST — Mark Whipple has stepped down as the UMass football coach, the university announced Wednesday night.
The announcement of a mutually agreed separation came a day after sources close to the program confirmed the two sides were in discussions about parting ways. Financial aspects of Whipple’s resignation have not been finalized.
Whipple just completed his fifth season of his second tenure at UMass, finishing with a 16-44 record in those five years. He led the Minutemen to the 1998 national championship at the then-Division I-AA level in his first season in Amherst and coached UMass to five winning seasons in six years before leaving to become the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterbacks coach.
The 61-year-old, who finished with a 65-70 record in his 11 combined years as UMass coach, said in a news release he was grateful for the chance to coach the Minutemen.
“I want to thank the UMass family for the opportunity of being the head football coach for 11 seasons,” Whipple said. “I especially want to thank our coaches, players, support staff and football alumni for their tireless efforts and support. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to help foster the growth of our student-athletes during these 11 years!”
Efforts to reach Whipple’s representative, Bob LaMonte of PSR Inc., were unsuccessful Wednesday night.
According to the release, a nationwide search for the next coach has started. According to a source close to the process, the school is not planning to hire a search firm to help with the hunt for a new coach.
Although no timeline was announced for the process, UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford will need to be mindful of the early signing period for football recruits. For the second year in a row, high school seniors can sign their National Letters of Intent over a three-day period in mid-December instead of the normal first Tuesday of February. This year, that early signing period lasts from Dec. 19-21.
Bamford, who inherited Whipple as coach when he was hired in 2015, said he was appreciative of how Whipple elevated the program in his second tenure and helped the Minutemen solidify itself at the FBS level.
“I want to thank Mark for his commitment to our football program for 11 years. He came back to UMass when this program needed a strong leader and respected mentor,” Bamford said in the release. “Mark provided the steady hand we needed in our early years as an FBS program and leaves our program in much better standing than when he came back in 2014. His legacy is not only cemented in his 65 wins and our 1998 FCS national championship, but in the way he positively impacted hundreds of young men in his program.”