Makana Garrigan, who begins his third season on staff in 2021, was hired as an assistant coach with the Black Bears in March of 2019. After spending his first two seasons with the running backs, Garrigan transitioned to coaching the cornerbacks in the fall of 2021.
In the shortened 2021 spring season, Garrigan mentored Maine's young running back unit, including seeing freshman Freddie Brock earn the CAA's Rookie of the Week honor after an impressive performance in the win at Stony Brook.
In his first season at UMaine, Garrigan mentored the running back unit while working closely with Coach Denecke on the coordination of the overall run game plan.
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Garrigan spent the three seasons prior to UMaine at the University of Hawai'i, serving his first two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant before spending the 2018 season as the defensive quality control coach, specifically working with the linebacker unit.
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During his time with the Rainbow Warriors, Garrigan worked extensively with the defensive staff where he assisted with leading the scout units and building scouting reports and data input and breakdown of opponent game film. Garrigan also aided in several of the recruiting efforts at Hawai'i, including prospect evaluations and recruiting itineraries. While at Hawai'i, Garrigan assisted the staff in guiding the Rainbow Warriors to appearances in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in both 2016 and 2018.
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Prior to his stint at Hawai'i, Garrigan served as a graduate assistant for one season at the University of Nevada and spent the 2012-15 years as a student-assistant with the Wolf Pack. While with the Wolf Pack, he assisted the defensive backs and linebackers where he provided data input and weekly scouting reports to the staff. During his time at Nevada, the Wolf Pack participated in three Bowl games; the 2015 Arizona Bowl, the 2014 New Orleans Bowls, and the 2012 Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
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A native of Petaluma, Calif., Garrigan graduated in 2011 from Casa Grande High School where he was a four-year letterwinner. Garrigan caught 53 passes for 776 yards and 11 touchdowns. He set the school records for tackles (307) and interceptions (17), recording 11 in one season. He also earned co-Conference Player of the Year in 2011.
Garrigan was originally recruited to play for Nevada in 2011 but suffered from an ongoing injury and was medically disqualified before the start of his freshman season. Eager to still be around the game, he rejoined the program as a student assistant coach.
