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College Football Coach Fired Before Massive Opportunity Against No. 12 Georgia

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jordan Sigler | Last updated Nov 18, 2024 12:02 PM ET

The No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs rebounded from a blowout 28-10 loss to Ole Miss in Week 11 by defeating No. 7 Tennessee.

The Bulldogs' 31-17 win over the Volunteers at Sanford Stadium on Saturday night is expected to vault the program back into the College Football Playoff bracket when the selection committee releases their new ranking on Tuesday evening.

UGA has two more games left on their schedule. On Saturday, they will host Massachusetts (2-8) before playing their final game against Georgia Tech, who boast two wins over top-10 teams this season.

The Bulldogs' matchup with Massachusetts became a little more interesting on Monday morning after UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford revealed the program is moving on from head coach Don Brown.

"I am extremely grateful to Coach Brown for returning to UMass three years ago to help us build back a program he once coached to a national title game," Bamford said. "Don should have immense pride in the outstanding contributions he has made to advance Massachusetts Football during his three stops in Amherst."

Offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery was named as the interim head coach for Massachusetts' final two games.

Brown was in his second stint with the Minutemen after previously coaching the team from 2004-2008. He returned as head coach before the 2022 season and has since gone 6-26 with UMass. The 69-year-old went 49-45 overall with the program in eight seasons.

Montgomery has a major opportunity with Massachusetts this week as the team prepares to play Georgia. The Minutemen could use their emotions from Brown's firing to help UMass pull a major upset of the Bulldogs. Montgomery can also impress future employers with a win over a CFP contender on Saturday.

Montgomery has previous experience as a head coach at the college level after leading the Miami Redhawks program from 2005-2008, during which time, he went 17-31.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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