Harasymiak Points Finger At Himself
UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak shouldered much of the blame for the Minutemen's blowout loss to Kent State last Saturday.
Some who were only able to read Joe Harasymiak’s quotes in print from the aftermath of last Saturday’s debacle at Kent State thought the first-year UMass head coach may have been reaching for the towel.
During his weekly press conference on Monday, Harasymiak made it vividly clear that was not the case.
“Nothing that’s been really hard in my life has ever happened overnight,” Harasymiak told reporters on Monday. “I think I’ve just got to keep being the light.
“I know I’ve said that before, but I can’t give up. I think that’s what everybody wants me to do and just kind of give in. But that is the complete opposite of how I’ve made A) my career and B) the way I was raised. So they’re going to get my best every week. I truly believe in that.
“Certainly, yes, we need to perform better and a lot goes into that, but I think our message to the team is, ‘We’re all we have. No one else is coming. This is it, right? So it’s up to us in this room to figure it out.’”
Immediately after getting blown out by Kent State - one of the very bottom teams in the FBS - 42-6, Harasymiak said he would need to make unpopular decisions moving forward and questioned whether everybody within the program was “cut out” for what it would take to turn things around.
Some read those comments as if Harasymiak was including himself in that group who may not be. He was asked to elaborate on those comments Monday.
“The line about making decisions, coaches and players and people cut out for it, I think it was time to challenge everybody,” Harasymiak responded. “Whether you thought this was going to be easier, whether you thought that we were going to face as much adversity as we can, I have challenged everybody in the building and that’s what that was about. I think it’s time. I’ve challenged them individually. I’ve challenged them with some great meetings.
“Basically, I’ve challenged them to put together a product and to keep moving forward. And so that’s what it was about. I just wanted to make sure everybody knew that, ‘Stop relying on other people to fix things. Do it yourself.’
“I think sometimes that’s what we get into, especially in games, we kind of think about player or coach-wise, maybe like, ‘OK, don’t worry, that side will do it or this side will do it, or that guy will make this play. Do it yourself.’”
As for what those “unpopular decisions” will be, Harasymiak said some would be noticeable on the field this Saturday against Buffalo while others would be more internal.
“It’s both,” Harasymiak said. “I think there’s conversations that I had that are uncomfortable about we need to do better. I think ultimately you’ll see some stuff change personnel-wise a little bit on Saturday. I think it’s a little bit of both.”
Harasymiak started Monday’s press conference the way he started last Saturday’s postgame press conference, with an apology to the supporters and former players and by pointing the finger at himself first.
“Obviously, I sent my apologies to our fan base, to the guys that have worn this jersey, that performance wasn’t right. I’ve got to look myself in the mirror. I said that it’s my fault. I told the team afterwards, it’s my fault not having them ready. That’s where I look first. We’ve just got to keep moving forward and get it right. But I wanted to start off with that because that performance is not acceptable for anybody that’s ever worn this jersey or supports us from a fan base standpoint.”
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