College football can be a cruel business, especially for its head coaches, who sometimes don’t even survive the season.

That’s the case at Massachusetts, which announced the firing of head coach Don Brown on Monday. Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford made the announcement, with the Minutemen limping to the finish line of the regular season with a 2-8 record as they prepare to face mighty Georgia on Saturday in Athens.

Offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery will serve as the program’s interim coach until a permanent head coach is hired. The search for a new head coach will begin immediately, with UMass having 2 more games left in a forgettable season.

“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,” said Bamford in Monday’s statement. “Don should have immense pride in the outstanding contributions he has made to advance Massachusetts football during his three stops in Amherst.”

Now all Montgomery has to do is step in this week, on the fly, and get his guys ready to play Kirby Smart’s Georgia machine, which is humming again after last Saturday night’s win over Tennessee. Not surprisingly, ESPN’s FPI matchup predictor gives Massachusetts virtually no shot to do the unthinkable and win in Athens, giving the Minutemen a 1% chance to win.