Feb. 16, 2006
Former Georgia Tech assistant football coach Geoff Collins has returned to the Yellow Jacket staff in the newly created position of Director of Player Personnel, head coach Chan Gailey announced.
Collins will direct Tech’s coaching clinics, camps and other events while administering the Jackets’ on-campus recruiting efforts.
He previously served at Tech from 1999-2001, spending his final season as the Yellow Jackets’ tight ends coach. He worked his first two years as a graduate assistant before being promoted to a full-time position.
“It’s great to have a person of Geoff’s experience to fill this position,” said Gailey. “He understands recruiting, and his prior experience at Georgia Tech will be invaluable.”
Collins returns to Atlanta after four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Western Carolina, his alma mater. In addition to his role as coordinator, Collins oversaw the defensive backs his first three years before coaching the linebackers in 2005. During his tenure at the NCAA I-AA program, the Catamount defense showed steady improvement, leading the country in pass defense last fall while ranking 18th nationally in total defense. Five of Western’s 11 defensive starters earned all-conference honors in 2005. Collins’ 2004 unit ranked 12th in the nation in total defense, while in 2003, the Catamount defense was 14th nationally against the run. Eleven Western Carolina defenders earned all-conference recognition the last three years under Collins.
Before coming to Tech in 1999, Collins spent two years (1997-98) as the defensive coordinator and linebackers and secondary coach at Albright College, an NCAA Division III program in Reading, Pa. In 1997 Albright’s defense ranked in the top 10 nationally in all defensive categories. In 1996, Collins served as an assistant coach at Fordham University, working with the outside linebackers while also serving as the junior varsity defensive coordinator. He also spent one season (1995) as an assistant coach at Franklin (N.C.) High School while student teaching in the Macon County Public Schools.
Collins played outside linebacker and defensive back at Western Carolina from 1989-92, totalling 194 career tackles from 1989-92. He began his coaching career as a student assistant on the Western Carolina staff in 1993, when the Catamounts were the preseason No. 1 team in NCAA Division I-AA.
A native of Conyers, Ga., who attended Rockdale County High School, Collins, 34, earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina in Sport Management and Exercise Science in 1994 and then completed the Education curriculum in 1995.
He is married to the former Jennifer Haynes, also a Western Carolina graduate.
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