Sophomore Tre Swilling is one of only four defensive starters that returns for new coordinator Andrew Thacker in 2019
The only guarantee is that there will be changes. Thacker knows all about such things.
He’s bumped around more than most coaches since playing defensive back for his stepfather, Bruce Miller, for three years at North Forsyth and then at Gainesville for his senior season, when the Red Elephants went to the semifinals in the state playoffs.
After a solid career as a safety at Furman, he worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Central Florida, where he met Collins – UCF’s linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at the time – and then at Oklahoma State.
He turned pro and went through one-year stops at Southern Mississippi, the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons (as a defensive assistant in 2014, the last year of head coach Mike Smith), UCF again and Kennesaw State before Collins lured him to Philadelphia.
It goes without saying that Thacker and his wife, Liza, are more than happy to be where they are, with family close and in the midst of a recruiting area with which he is familiar. He recruited Atlanta while at Temple and he knows plenty about what’s going on nearby.
Plus, “There’s no place like home and certainly there’s all the advantages that Atlanta has outside of it being home. It’s just special. It’s unique … “ Thacker said. “That makes a difference.
“I’ve got a wife and a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old little boy and Mom and I are going to have some date nights now because we’ve got some babysitters!”
Regardless of comfort zone, Thacker – who has suggested he favors man-to-man coverage with a good share of press — will not flee change.
Much as Tech’s offense will see movement with A-backs from former coach Paul Johnson’s attack being considered as wide receivers or defensive backs, the defense figures to morph.
Thacker said the goal of the staff to help student-athletes be the “best versions of themselves” may include them playing both sides of the ball.
Think about this: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Keith Kirkwood, who has 13 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns after being elevated from the practice squad this season, saw spot duty at defensive end at Temple.
Last fall, TU running back Rock Armstead played occasionally at linebacker, and, a couple years ago, linebacker Shaun Bradley carried the ball a few times as a back.
While all of this may prompt pondering about whether Georgia Tech linebacker Bruce Jordan-Swilling might play elsewhere (he was a fine high school running back, and returned a few kickoffs late last season), it also dovetails with the fact that Thacker is not likely to be a one-man, dictatorial defensive coordinator.
Even with Collins suggesting that he’ll be less involved in the nuts and bolts of game-planning as he dials in on re-branding the Georgia Tech football program and recruiting, Thacker – who speaks quite quickly – will believe that when he sees it.
Regardless, he’s looking forward to crafting a company of thieves and expects to have company with Burton and the boss as they design a new Ocean’s 11 on The Flats. That collaboration will likely mean that Tech’s procedures will not be predictable.
“I have zero ego about [working under a head coach with a defensive background],” he said. “Coach Collins is the best defensive coordinator in the country, it just turns out he’s a dynamic head coach as well. Any time Coach Collins wants to be in that room, I want him in there.”
