Temple Football coach Geoff Collins leaving for Georgia Tech
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Temple Football coach Geoff Collins is leaving to fill the vacant head-coaching position at Georgia Tech.
In a statement Friday morning, Temple Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft confirmed Collins' decision.
"This morning, Head Football Coach Geoff Collins informed me of his decision to return home and accept a position at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In his two years at Temple, Geoff helped us build on past successes and led us to two consecutive bowl games and an eight-win season in 2018. Off the field, our student-athletes excelled in the classroom and represented Temple well in the community. We wish Geoff, Jennifer and Astrid all the best in Atlanta and we thank them for their service to Temple University," Kraft stated.
Kraft says Temple has launched its national search for a new head coach.
"Assistant head coach Ed Foley will serve as our interim head coach during this period and will coach the team during the Independence Bowl," Kraft said.
Collins met with Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury in New York earlier this week and with the university president in Atlanta on Thursday.
Collins will replace Paul Johnson, who is stepping down after 11 seasons as coach of the Yellow Jackets. Johnson will coach Georgia Tech against Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl on Dec. 26 in Detroit.
Yahoo! Sports first reported Collins, a Georgia native, had emerged as the leading candidate at Georgia Tech.
Collins is 15-10 in two seasons at Temple, including an 8-4 record with a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference this season. He took over for his close friend Matt Rhule last year, when Rhule left for Baylor.
Before coming to Temple, Collins was a well-regarded defensive coordinator at Florida (2015-16) and Mississippi State (2011-14). Collins grew up in Conyers, Georgia, 24 miles east of Atlanta, and was a graduate assistant there early in his career under head coach George O'Leary. He also spent a season as director of player personal at Alabama in 2007, Nick Saban's first leading the Crimson Tide.
Full Statement from Temple Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft:
"This morning, Head Football Coach Geoff Collins informed me of his decision to return home and accept a position at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
In his two years at Temple, Geoff helped us build on past successes and led us to two consecutive bowl games and an eight-win season in 2018. Off the field, our student-athletes excelled in the classroom and represented Temple well in the community. We wish Geoff, Jennifer and Astrid all the best in Atlanta and we thank them for their service to Temple University.
While it is always difficult to lose a head coach, it is a testament to what we have built at Temple through our students, our fans, our alumni and our donors that we can continue to have success. We have a world-class university, strong support staff, excellent facilities, passionate supporters and a very healthy culture and I am confident that there will be great interest in our job yet again.
We have immediately launched a national search for a new head coach and we will be exhaustive and deliberate in the process yet move as quickly as possible. Assistant head coach Ed Foley will serve as our interim head coach during this period and will coach the team during the Independence Bowl. I would remind our passionate fans that the only accurate information about candidates or the process will come from me but not until the conclusion of the search.
Finally, I want to thank the tremendous young men in our football program who remain steadfast and vigilant in their commitment to their academic progress, their football development and to the greater Temple community. Our student-athletes are at the core in all that we do and they will remain our primary focus."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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