South Carolina adds former ACC head coach, SEC assistant Geoff Collins to staff
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Geoff Collins is back in the SEC. South Carolina has announced the addition of Collins to Shane Beamer‘s staff as a senior defensive assistant coach.
Collins, 54, heads to Columbia from the ACC. But he also has plenty of SEC familiarity.
Last season, Collins was the defensive coordinator at North Carolina, Mack Brown’s final season as head coach of the Tar Heels. It was a return to a familiar position after multiple head coaching stints.
Collins was Georgia Tech’s head coach from 2019-22. He was let go amid a 1-3 start in 2022. Under Collins, the Yellow Jackets posted a 10-28 record.
Prior to Georgia Tech, Collins coached Tempt for 2 seasons. He led the Owls to a 15-10 record and back-to-back bowl games.
Before his first head coaching job, Collins was an assistant coach, including multiple SEC gigs. Collins was a Director of Player Personnel at Alabama in 2007, Nick Saban‘s first season.
After stops at UCF and FIU, Collins returned to the SEC, serving as co-defensive coordinator on Dan Mullen’s Mississippi State staff for the 2011 and ’12 seasons. Mullen promoted Collins to sole DC in 2013.
Collins left Mississippi State for Florida ahead of the 2015 season. He spent 2 seasons with the Gators before taking the Temple head coaching job.
Welcome home, @CoachCollins! pic.twitter.com/GMcMxVdRfY
— South Carolina Football (@GamecockFB) July 27, 2025
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
