FBS head coach fired after embarrassing loss to FCS school, per report
By Keith Farner
Published:
Another FBS program has reportedly fired its coach.
UMass has moved on from Walt Bell, Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported after Bell finished 2-23 and lost to Rhode Island on Saturday, 35-22. Bell joined UMass before the 2019 season, and brought 12 years of FBS coaching experience to the Minuteman program, including 5 seasons as the offensive coordinator at three institutions: Arkansas State (2014-15), Maryland (2016-17) and Florida State (2018), according to his bio.
The Minutemen are 1-8 this season and have lost 3 in a row.
Thamel reported that offensive line coach Alex Miller is expected to be the interim coach.
One of the few bright spots for UMass on Saturday was that Ellis Merriweather ran for 118 yards with 30 carries, which marked his fourth game of the season with 100-plus rushing yards.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.