Florida’s Geoff Collins hired as Temple’s head coach

Temple has found its next head coach in Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. The program made the hire official on Tuesday afternoon after the hire was reported earlier that morning.

“As soon as I met with Geoff I knew right away that this was the right coach at the right time for Temple University,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick M. Kraft in teh school’s official release. “Well beyond Geoff’s acumen as a coach of hard, physical football, he shares our values of embracing the student-athlete and demanding excellence in all that we do. We welcome Geoff and Jennifer to the Temple family. I know that he will be fantastic.”

Former Owls head coach Matt Rhule was named Baylor’s next head coach last week after leading the program to its first-ever back-to-back 10-win seasons.

Collins’ Florida defense ranked in the country’s top 10 in both 2015 and 2016, leading to two straight SEC East championships for the Gators.

Prior to arriving at Florida, Collins spent four seasons at Mississippi State on Dan Mullen’s defensive staff. While there, he was known for his humorous, hand-drawn recruiting letters, in addition to his quality defenses.

This the portrait of the artist Geoff Collins, Mississippi State defensive coordinator and accidental art pioneer, the creator of two of this season’s most celebrated works - the raw, minimalist “You’re a Baller” and the Warholian “Can of SWAG,” which assures the viewer that Collins “has a truckload of it over here in Stark Vegas.”

Until now Collins was something of the Johannes Vermeer of the college football letter movement, which in years past was a far less adventurous affair. But now that his identity has been found, his story can be told, if only to better understand his art.

“When I was a G.A. at Georgia Tech, that’s when I started getting into the whole writing recruiting letters,” he says. “When I was there under Coach [George] O’Leary, we had six primary states, and I kept bugging him to recruit. So finally he said, ‘OK fine, you’ve got the other 44 states.’ I couldn’t go on the road, so I started writing letters and trying to find a way to create a big impact. That year, of those 44 states we had five kids sign. So ever since it’s been about trying to garner attention of recruits for whatever school I’m at.”

At Mississippi State in his last season in 2014, Collins helped lead the Bulldogs to their first 10-win season since 1999 and an Orange Bowl invite. His defense finished the year with the second-most sacks in the SEC, and was the nation’s No. 1 red zone defense.

He’s spent most of his coaching career in the Southeast, but did spend a few years in the 1990s at smaller schools in the Northeast.

“I want to thank President Englert and Dr. Kraft for this incredible opportunity to join Temple and the City of Philadelphia,” Collins said. “I have been in the game of college football for more than two decades and I am humbled and honored to be chosen to build on a great foundation of success. We will compete for championships, we will provide a world-class student-athlete experience and education, and we will represent the community with pride.”

He’s also got something in common with the guy he’s replacing: