ORONO — Jordan Stevens answered the questions, one day after making the most consequential decision of his time as head coach of the University of Maine football team. Stevens was resolute.

Mikahael Waters, Maine’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2024, is out. Sean Green, in his first season on Stevens’ staff as the running backs coach, is now the interim offensive coordinator.

When you fire your offensive coordinator in the middle of the season, you’d better be absolutely sure it’s the right move. It’s not a move you can make emotionally or haphazardly.

“We have a very talented roster, and we’ve done a lot of good things this season. We’ve got to be more consistent. We’ve got to score points,” Stevens said following Tuesday morning’s practice.

The Black Bears are 1-5. Since winning the season opener at Towson, Maine has lost five games in a row. You don’t have to break down the statistics too deeply to see that the team’s offense has been the major contributing factor to the weak start.

Averaging just 270.2 yards per game, Maine ranks 115 of 124 teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, and last in the Coastal Athletic Association. Scoring an average of 14.5 point per game, Maine is 118th nationally and, again, last in the league.

Rushing offense? Ranked 110th at 96 yards per game. Passing offense? Ranked 93th, just over 174 yards per game. Third-down conversions? Ranked 90th with a 33% success rate. The Black Bears’ best national ranking is in first downs, in which they’re tied for 85th.

All that said, firing an assistant coach in the middle of the season is a rare move. It happens, but usually for off-the-field reasons. Conversations with two Maine football alumni whose relationships with the program go back decades said they’ve never heard of a Black Bears coach losing his job midseason.

Stevens noted that the slow start doesn’t all fall on Waters. But he determined that enough of it does to warrant the rare midseason change. Waiting until the end of the season wasn’t going to work.

Stevens sees the situation as one that needs immediate attention, one that can set the tone for the remaining five games.

“When you look at our team, I believe we are a team that can win football games,” Stevens said. “I’m not sitting here just throwing in the towel on the season. I’m not willing to do that.”

Green is no stranger to football fans in Maine. He coached Portland to the Class A state title in 2024. In 2021, Green coached Cape Elizabeth to the Class C championship. Two of the players who were pivotal in those title runs are now among the weapons Green has in the Black Bears’ offense. Running back Nick Laughlin of Cape Elizabeth is a key contributor whose four touchdowns lead the team. Freshman wide receiver Cordell Jones of Portland has yet to see game action.

Green was not made available for comment Tuesday.

College football is a production business, Stevens said. You judge production in wins. Every coach has to do a better job, he said. If players aren’t playing with confidence, coaches need to instill it. If players aren’t executing on the field, coaches need to develop ways to find success. Stevens said he’s not pointing the finger, he’s pointing the thumb, back at himself and the rest of the staff.

“It’s really about us recommitting ourselves to the season,” Stevens said. “I don’t need to make a narrative over scoring more points. You can see that. We need to score more points so we can win football games. … Winning is the expectation, and not winning is never OK. We grow from those experiences, but we do need to compete and win football games. I refuse to hold us to a standard that’s anything less than that. That’s not who I am. That’s not who we’re going to be as a team.”

Since being named head coach prior to the 2022, Stevens’ teams are 16-36, the high point being a 6-6 mark last season. Asked if he felt any other assistant coaches, or even himself, were on the hot seat, Stevens was curt.

“No,” he said.

Is replacing the offensive coordinator exactly what the Black Bears need, or is it a last-ditch effort to keep a season from completely slipping away? Starting with the home game against Bryant on Oct. 17, they’ll have five games to find out.