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Geoff Collins (American football)

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Geoff Collins
Biographical details
Born (1971-04-10) April 10, 1971 (age 54)
Conyers, Georgia, U.S.
Playing career
1989–1992Western Carolina
Position(s)Linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1993–1994Western Carolina (assistant)
1995Franklin HS (NC) (assistant)
1996Fordham (LB)
1997–1998Albright (DC)
1999–2001Georgia Tech (GA)
2002–2005Western Carolina (DC)
2006Georgia Tech (RC)
2007Alabama (DPP)
2008–2009UCF (LB/RC)
2010FIU (DC)
2011–2012Mississippi State (co-DC)
2013–2014Mississippi State (DC)
2015–2016Florida (DC)
2017–2018Temple
2019–2022Georgia Tech
2024North Carolina (DC)
Head coaching record
Overall25–38
Bowls1–0

William Geoffrey Collins (born April 10, 1971)[1] is an American college football coach and former player who was the defensive coordinator for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels. He was head coach at Georgia Tech from 2018 until 2022 and the head coach at Temple University from 2017 until 2018.[2] He previously served defensive coordinator for the University of Florida and Mississippi State University.[3] He was nominated for the Broyles Award at three different schools, Florida International University in 2010, MSU in 2014, and UF in 2015.[4]

Coaching career

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Early career

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Collins graduated from Rockdale County High School in Conyers, Georgia, where he played for coach and mentor Jeff Beggs.[5] He went on to play football at Western Carolina University.[6] Following his graduation, Collins served as a student assistant at Western Carolina, his alma mater, during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Following a year coaching high school, Collins became the linebacker coach for Fordham in 1996 before becoming the defensive coordinator at Albright College from 1997 through 1998. Collins left Albright to become a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech under George O'Leary for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Following two years in the GA position, Georgia Tech promoted Collins to tight ends coach at for the 2001 season. Collins returned to his alma mater to become Western Carolina's defensive coordinator from 2002 through 2005 before returning to Georgia Tech in 2006 as the Director of Player Personnel through 2007. After a year at Alabama as the Director of Player Personnel, Collins was reunited with O'Leary at UCF as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2008 through 2009.[7]

FIU (2010)

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Collins served as the defensive coordinator for Florida International during the 2010 season. Collins' defense led the Sun Belt Conference in total defense, scoring defense and turnover margin.The team won the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game and the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.[1]

Mississippi State (2011–2014)

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Collins coached at Mississippi State from 2011 through 2014. During that time, Collins coached All-American Fletcher Cox, who was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft. Upon being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2013, Collins helped lead a Bulldogs team that finished in the Top 5 in the SEC in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. Under Collins, the Bulldogs' became one of the best defenses in the Southeastern Conference.[8] In 2014, Collins' Mississippi State defense led the SEC in sacks and had the conference's No. 1 Red Zone defense en route to a 10-3 record. He was nicknamed the "Minister of Mayhem" at MSU.[9] He coached several linebackers that later went to the NFL, including Fletcher Cox,[10] Cameron Lawrence, Deontae Skinner, and Nickoe Whitley.[7]

Florida (2015–2016)

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Collins spent two years as the defensive coordinator at Florida underneath Jim McElwain. While with the Gators, Collins oversaw a defense that ranked No. 6 in scoring defense in 2016 and No. 11 in 2015.[11] During the 2015 season, Collins' defense became just the seventh team in the last 20 years to not allow a touchdown against three FBS Power 5 schools on the road in the same season.[1] During his time at Florida, Collins coached five defensive players that were drafted in the 2016 NFL draft and produced a consensus All-American in Vernon Hargreaves. Hargreaves and safety Keanu Neal were drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.[10]

The team won the SEC East Championship in 2015,[12] and 2016.[13] Following the 2015 season, Collins was a candidate to replace O'Leary as the head coach at UCF,[14] although the position ultimately went to Scott Frost.[15]

Temple (2017–2018)

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Collins secured his first head coaching job in December 2016 when he was named Matt Rhule's successor at Temple. Collins had previously worked alongside Rhule at Albright College and Western Carolina.[16]

In Collins' first season, Temple went 7–6 and won the 2017 Gasparilla Bowl, the program's first bowl win since 2011 and just its third bowl win overall.[17]

In his second season, the Owls started off 0-2 but finished the regular season 8–4 overall and 7–1 in conference play. The Owls qualified for the 2018 Independence Bowl as a result. Along the way, Collins surpassed Steve Addazio as the winningest Temple coach over the first two seasons of their tenure at the school.[18] He coached Rock Ya-Sin, a second round pick in the 2019 NFL draft.[19]

Georgia Tech (2019–2022)

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Collins on the field during Georgia Tech's spring game in 2019

On December 7, 2018, Collins was named the 20th head coach of Georgia Tech football.[20] He coached six Yellow Jackets who were drafted by the NFL, including Tyler Davis, Jalen Camp, Pressley Harvin III, Tariq Carpenter, Keion White, and Jahmyr Gibbs, as well as the free agent Nathan Cottrell.[10] He was subsequently released by the Yellow Jackets in 2022, following the teams' 27-10 loss to University of Central Florida on September 24, 2022.[21][22] Collins had a record of 10-28 at Georgia Tech, the lowest winning percentage for a permanent head coach in the program's history.[23] Assistant head coach Brent Key took over as interim head coach.[24]

North Carolina (2024)

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Collins was hired by Mack Brown as defensive coordinator at UNC Chapel Hill, replacing previous defensive coordinator Gene Chizik.[10] Coach Collins was not retained and was replaced by a former Patriots assistant, Steve Belichick.[25]

Personal life

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Collins and his wife Jennifer have one daughter.[26] Collins coined the phrase "Money Down" to describe third and fourth downs, and started a pledge to donate to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) for each Money Down made by the Yellow Jackets.[27] In 2018, he organized and participated in a blood drive for an assistant equipment manager diagnosed with leukemia.[28] He has also been involved with The Jed Foundation.[29]

Head coaching record

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Temple Owls (American Athletic Conference) (2017–2018)
2017 Temple 7–6 4–4 3rd (East) W Gasparilla
2018 Temple 8–4 7–1 2nd (East) Independence[a]
Temple: 15–10 11–5
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2019–2022)
2019 Georgia Tech 3–9 2–6 7th (Coastal)
2020 Georgia Tech 3–7 3–6 12th
2021 Georgia Tech 3–9 2–6 6th (Coastal)
2022 Georgia Tech 1–3[b] 0–1 (Coastal)
Georgia Tech: 10–28 7–19
Total: 25–38
  1. ^ Collins resigned prior to the bowl game
  2. ^ Georgia Tech fired Collins after four games

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Geoff Collins". Temple Owls. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  2. ^ Narducci, Marc (December 7, 2018). "Temple's Geoff Collins leaving for Georgia Tech; he won't coach Owls' bowl game". The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "2016 Football Coaching Staff - Florida Gators". Florida Gators. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  4. ^ "Reports, Source: Geoff Collins Hired as UNC's DC". northcarolina.rivals.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "Temple's Geoff Collins: Always a coach in the making". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. ^ "Rockdale County graduate Collins ready to lead Georgia Tech football". December 14, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Geoff Collins - Football Coach". Mississippi State. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  8. ^ Bonner, Michael. "MSU loses defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to Florida". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  9. ^ "The 'Minister of Mayhem': Geoff Collins brings experience, fresh ideas to UNC football". The 'Minister of Mayhem': Geoff Collins brings experience, fresh ideas to UNC football -. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d "Geoff Collins Hired As Defensive Coordinator". University of North Carolina Athletics. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "2015 Florida Gators Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Milliken, Adam (July 4, 2016). "2016 SEC East Preview: Florida Gators | TNJN: Tennessee Journalist". tnjn.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  13. ^ "Florida Selected to Finish Second in SEC East". Florida Gators. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  14. ^ Hutchins, Andy (October 27, 2015). "CAB: Collins could get interest from UCF". SB Nation. Vox Media. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  15. ^ Goldkamp, Thomas (November 24, 2015). "Report: UCF to interview two UF assistants for head job". 247Sports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 6, 2019.[dead link]
  16. ^ Narducci, Marc (December 13, 2016). "Temple hires Florida's Geoff Collins as football coach". The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "Football Grinds Past FIU in Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, 28-3". Temple Owls. December 21, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  18. ^ "Geoff Collins - Football Coach". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  19. ^ Ledbetter, D. Orlando. "Q&A: Rock Ya-Sin has his own football journey". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  20. ^ "Collins Named Georgia Tech Football Head Coach". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  21. ^ Kassim, Ehsan. "Why was Geoff Collins fired at Georgia Tech? Explaining UNC DC's exit with Yellow Jackets". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  22. ^ "Ga Tech fires Geoff Collins in 4th season with 10-28 mark". AP News. September 26, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  23. ^ "Georgia Tech fires football coach Geoff Collins and athletic director Todd Stansbury". USA Today. September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  24. ^ Sugiura, Ken. "Update: Collins, Stansbury dismissed at Georgia Tech, Brent Key interim coach". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  25. ^ "UNC's Belichick hire shakes up the ACC". technique. January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  26. ^ "How Geoff Collins was hired by Georgia Tech". AJC. December 8, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  27. ^ ""Money Down" To Benefit CHOA". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. September 11, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  28. ^ Sugiura, Ken. "When 'El Diablo' was in need, Geoff Collins was there". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  29. ^ "GTC Raises $11,500 for Jed Foundation". Retrieved May 11, 2025.
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