Geoff Collins (American football)
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Temple |
| Conference | AAC |
| Record | 15–10 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 10, 1971 Conyers, Georgia |
| Alma mater | Western Carolina |
| Playing career | |
| 1989–1992 | Western Carolina |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1993–94 | Western Carolina (Asst.) |
| 1995 | Franklin HS (NC) (Asst.) |
| 1996 | Fordham (LB) |
| 1997–1998 | Albright (DC) |
| 1999–2001 | Georgia Tech (GA) |
| 2002–2005 | Western Carolina (DC) |
| 2006 | Georgia Tech (RC) |
| 2007 | Alabama (DPP) |
| 2008–2009 | UCF (LB/RC) |
| 2010 | FIU (DC) |
| 2011–2012 | Mississippi State (co-DC) |
| 2013–2014 | Mississippi State (DC) |
| 2015–2016 | Florida (DC) |
| 2017–2018 | Temple |
| 2019-Present | Georgia Tech |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 15–10 |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
William Geoffrey Collins (born April 10, 1971 in Conyers, Georgia)[1] is an American football coach and former player. On December 7, 2018, Collins was announced as the head football coach at Georgia Tech.[2] He was previously the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida and Mississippi State University. He was also the head coach at Temple from 2016-2018. [3]
Coaching career
Early career
Following his graduation, Collins served as a student assistant at 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 would leave 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, Collins was promoted to tight ends coach at Georgia Tech for the 2001 season. Collins would return 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. After a year at Alabama as the Director of Player Personnel, Collins would reunite with O'Leary at UCF as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2008 through 2009.
Florida International
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.[1]
Mississippi State
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. 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.
Florida
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.[4] 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.
Following the 2015 season, Collins was a candidate to replace O'Leary as the head coach at UCF.[5] Collins interviewed for the position that ultimately went to Scott Frost.[6]
Temple
Collins secured his first head coaching job in December 2016 when he was named Matt Rhule's successor at Temple. Collins had previously served as Rhule's boss at Albright College and Western Carolina.[7]
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. [8]
In Temple's second season underneath Collins, 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.
NFL players coached
Throughout his time as a head coach, Collins has coached a number of players that would go on to play in the National Football League. This list is limited to players that were either drafted by an NFL team or appeared in a regular season game for an NFL franchise.
Temple
| Draft Year | Player Name | Position | Round | Pick | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Jacob Martin | DL | 6th | 186th | Seattle Seahawks |
| 2018 | Jullian Taylor | DL | 7th | 223rd | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2018 | Sean Chandler | S | N/A | N/A | Undrafted signed with New York Giants |
| 2018 | Sharif Finch | DL | N/A | N/A | Undrafted signed with Tennessee Titans |
| 2018 | Keith Kirkwood | WR | N/A | N/A | Undrafted signed with New Orleans Saints |
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple Owls (American Athletic Conference) (2017–present) | |||||||||
| 2017 | Temple | 7–6 | 4–4 | 3rd (East) | W Gasparilla | ||||
| 2018 | Temple | 8–4 | 7–1 | 2nd (East) | Independence | ||||
| Temple: | 15–10 | 11–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 15–10 | ||||||||
References
- ^ a b c http://www.owlsports.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1785
- ^ [www2.philly.com/college-sports/temple/geoff-collins-temple-georgia-tech-football-coach-20181207.html "Temple's Geoff Collins leaving for Georgia Tech; he won't coach Owls' bowl game"]. The Inquirer. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "2016 Football Coaching Staff - Florida Gators". floridagators.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/florida/2015.html
- ^ http://www.alligatorarmy.com/2015/10/27/9620790/geoff-collins-ucf-knights-head-coach-candidate-florida-gators
- ^ http://florida.247sports.com/Bolt/Report-UCF-to-interview-two-UF-assistants-for-head-job-41361521
- ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/college/All-signs-point-to-Temple-hiring-Florida-DC-Geoff-Collins-as-new-football-coach.html
- ^ http://owlsports.com/news/2017/12/21/football-grinds-past-fiu-in-bad-boy-mowers-gasparilla-bowl-28-3.aspx?path=football
External links
- 1971 births
- Living people
- American football linebackers
- Albright Lions football coaches
- FIU Panthers football coaches
- Florida Gators football coaches
- Fordham Rams football coaches
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches
- Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches
- Temple Owls football coaches
- UCF Knights football coaches
- Western Carolina Catamounts football coaches
- Western Carolina Catamounts football players