Massachusetts head coach Charley Molnar wipes his brow on the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. Vanderbilt won 24-7.

University of Massachusetts football coach Charley Molnar has been fired by athletic director John McCutcheon, the team announced Thursday.

Molnar, signed to a 5-year contract in December 2011 to lead the Minutemen in the move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision, won just two games in his two seasons at UMass, finishing 2-22 overall and 2-14 in the Mid-American Conference.

McCutcheon said the decision to part with Molnar was made late last week after a three-week long investigation into the perception of the program that included input from UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy.

"It wasn't something that was done lightly, obviously," McCutcheon said in a telephone interview Thursday. "After the conclusion of the season, both myself and the chancellor reached out to a number of different constituencies, both internal and external, to get a clear understanding of what the perception of the program was and assess where we were moving forward and how we could do that most effectively."

Molnar could not be reached for comment, but tweeted Thursday afternoon that "No coach, staff, or team worked harder to build a championship program than we did. Disappointed in the results but proud of the foundation!"

According to McCutcheon, Molnar has three years and $836,000 left on his contract that will be bought out with "external funding."

Defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian and inside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Ted Daisher were also dismissed last week, a team spokesperson confirmed. Per a report by the Maroon Musket, the remaining coaches on staff will be given the opportunity either to stay on with the next coach or have their contracts bought out.

After gathering the opinions of dozens of players, staff members and outside sources, McCutcheon and Subbaswamy came to an agreement that a change in direction was needed to preserve a positive image for the program as it moves forward into its FBS era.

"Charley gave a real good effort; he gave it his heart and soul. It was a very challenging situation and we want to thank him for his efforts," McCutcheon said. "But we just felt that this was in the best interest of the current program and looking forward down the road.

"The bottom line was we didn't think the perception of the program was where we wanted it to be – a positive one and one that had people excited about our prospects for the future. That's what we want to generate. We want people to be engaged and we want them to feel good about the direction we're going and the things that we're doing. We just didn't have that feel."

McCutcheon, who as recently as November had said Molnar would return for the 2014 season, stressed that the team's back-to-back 1-11 records in the FBS weren't deciding factors in determining Molnar's fate, saying "We know what the challenge was with the transition and that that was going to take time."

In addition to his team's on-field struggles, Molnar came under fire in September when an Internet petition was created by a group of UMass football alumni. The petition, calling for the team to "stop the improper treatment of the current players (and) improve the quality of the program," was made public after a video depicting players taking part in winter conditioning workouts that including boxing and MMA-style wrestling surfaced online.

The controversy drew the attention of Subbaswamy, prompting investigation into the team's compliance with regulations governing offseason activities.

The investigation is ongoing and will be completed some time in January. Preliminary findings were provided as the administration assessed the state of the program in advance of firing Molnar, but "there was nothing in there that prompted us to make the move that we made," McCutcheon said.

In a statement released by the university, Subbaswamy said he "fully support(s) the decision regarding the head coaching position in football."

"Our program must foster a positive environment in which our student-athletes thrive both athletically and academically," Subbaswamy said. "Furthermore, it is critical that in addition to ensuring on-field success our next coach earns the support of alumni, faculty, students and fans. I am confident that UMass football will continue to improve and will excel at the FBS level."

McCutcheon said the search for a new coach will be begin immediately and "will be aided by an advisory committee with membership from the Board of Trustees, the UMass Amherst Foundation board, faculty, students, alumni and senior administration."

Carr Sports Consulting has been hired to assist in the search. McCutcheon did not provide details of the aims of the coaching search, but expected the position would draw "a lot of interest."

"I always hesitate to put out a model, because everybody has strengths and everybody has areas where they might be perhaps more prepared," he said. "It's open – wide open – and we want to consider the potential candidates to become the next coach without precasting a certain perception of 'this is the guy we're looking for,' because I don't know that that guy ever exists."

"Nobody's ever excited about having to make a coaching change; we aren't either. And, as I said, we didn't take this lightly. We gave it due consideration and we think it's the best thing for the program in the long run."