Colorful Collins Ready to Place His Stamp on Gators' Defense
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The total transformation takes time. You don't just walk in, change from the colors of the old to the new, and say “let's do it.” That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works.
Plus, that's not new Gators defensive coordinator Geoff Collins' style. He is known as the “Minister of Mayhem” for crying out loud. It takes time to create mayhem when you first get to a new place. Same for swag. You can bring it with you, but true swag needs time to blossom and bloom in the new surroundings.
What about Collins' “Swag Chalice?” You know, the customized goblet Collins used at Mississippi State to pour down way more Mountain Dews and 5-Hour Energy Drinks in a single day than your average nutritionist would suggest.
“That thing is still being made right now,'' Collins said.
And then there is the “Psycho Defense” Collins directed at Mississippi State, a unit that helped the Bulldogs climb all the way to No. 1 in the polls last season for the first time in school history.
Will that be the nickname of Florida's defense in 2015?
C'mon man, by now you should know that's not the way Collins rolls.
“Brandon Wilson, one of the players at Mississippi State, one day at practice said it and we just ran with it,'' Collins said. “It was something they had fun with. It'll be rebranded to fit this place and fit these kids and their personalities. I'm big on not being a swag stealer.
“I want to create our own energy, create our own, you know, branding, something the kids buy into organically and naturally. Not to use too many big words, but that's what we're all about.”
Collins is ready to make it happen.
In his brief time on the job, he has met with his new players to get a feel for their personalities. He has watched film to get to know their games. And while he'll be on the road recruiting for much of the next three weeks, Collins (Twitter profile photo) is pumped about the start of spring camp and a chance to coach the players on the field for the first time.
While Florida's offense has struggled in recent years, the Gators' defense has not. Florida ranked in the top 10 nationally for four consecutive years under former head coach Will Muschamp.
Known as a good recruiter who has a track record of developing players – five Mississippi State players were drafted by the NFL under Collins' tutelage – Collins has no plans to blow up a defense with several talented players returning and start over.
He may be a little crazy, but he's not stupid.
“I have a lot of respect for what they've done on defense the last four years," Collins said. “The talent that has been assembled here is legitimate SEC talent. The thing we've talked about with the defensive guys: it's not a wholesale change. Let's just work on finding the things we can get better and take us to the next level."
New head coach Jim McElwain's first hire last month was Collins, who split time between defensive coordinator and linebackers coach the last four seasons at Mississippi State.
When McElwain first arrived at Alabama in early 2008 to become Nick Saban's offensive coordinator, Collins was on his way out the door after a season as Alabama's director of player personnel. Collins left to become linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator at UCF.
Before he did, Collins left a lasting impression on McElwain. And Collins quickly liked McElwain, so when McElwain called to offer him a job, it was time for Collins to order a new swag chalice with some orange and blue on it.
“He's always been one of my favorite people in the business,'' Collins said. “So the chance to work for him, work with him, was an opportunity I was excited about.”
This is Collins' third job as a defensive coordinator, a role he filled for a season at Florida International (2010) prior to replacing Manny Diaz at Mississippi State. Coincidentally, it was Diaz who replaced Muschamp when he left Texas to become Florida's head coach in 2011, and it was Diaz who was re-hired at Mississippi State last week to replace Collins.
In the small world of college coaching, the 43-year-old Collins stands out for his charismatic and energetic approach. He isn't afraid to think outside the box and his defenses are aggressive and strive to create turnovers. Mississippi State had 16 interceptions last season, ranked 15th in the country.
McElwain has assembled Collins, former University of Miami head coach Randy Shannon, defensive line coach Terrell Williams and secondary coach Kirk Callahan to make sure the Gators continue to play solid defense as McElwain and his offensive staff try to rejuvenate that side of the ball.
Shannon will help coordinator the defense while serving as associate head coach and linebackers coach. He already sees some similarities with the high-energy Collins.
“We've always got to be on the same page,'' Shannon said. “We coach with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy. We get after it. But it's all about having fun and making sure the players on the field are having fun and enjoying what they're doing. You cannot go to work feeling down about yourself.”
At Mississippi State, Collins used a metric system called “Juice Points” to keep track of defensive players' performance. The players responded well to the system that awarded players who gave relentless effort.
Collins' philosophy at Florida will remain the same even if the branding changes.
“I was able to be out there for some of the bowl practices,'' Collins said. “It was like a kid at Christmas. You get all these new fancy toys to play with but they don't let you play with them. So now I'm just excited to be around the guys. They've got a look in their eye and obviously they're talented and hungry to have some success.”
Collins is at a new place, coaching new players and trying to build a new culture on Florida's defense. The transformation has just started.
Still, some things remain very familiar.
That was obvious last week during his first press conference at UF.
“You guys sat here with Geoff and his Mountain Dew,'' Williams said of his new colleague. “It looked like he was filming a Mountain Dew commercial. He's got a lot of energy.”
Collins will take a swig to that.
