Don Brown is headed back to his home state.

On Monday morning, UMass announced that the longtime defensive coordinator and former head coach of the Minutemen will be making a return. He was the head coach from 2004-08, racking up a 43-19 record in 5 years.

At the time, UMass was not competing at the FBS level. The Minutemen made two playoff appearances under Brown.

“I am very pleased that we are able to bring Don and his family back to UMass. Coach Brown’s remarkable coaching expertise and familiarity with our program and the Northeast makes this a perfect fit,” said UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford. “Don is a phenomenal recruiter, talent developer and connector. We will benefit from his football acumen, strong leadership qualities and his fierce intensity and desire to build our growing FBS program into a perennial winner.”

Since being the head coach at UMass, Brown has been a defensive coordinator at UConn, Boston College, Michigan and Arizona.

“I am honored to return to Amherst and lead the football program at the University of Massachusetts again,” Brown said. “I promise to work tirelessly to make this program into something that our players, alumni and fans can be proud of. My focus will also be to develop our student-athletes so they can play at an elite level and achieve success, which requires building great relationships and having a tremendous work ethic. I can’t wait to get back to the Commonwealth and get to work.”

UMass is 1-10 this season.