ricejacket
Damn Good Rat
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2005
- Messages
- 1,498
ATLANTA — Georgia Tech once claimed a relevant and competitive football program, even with academic mandates and economic realities that limited its ceiling among top FBS competition. The Yellow Jackets occasionally contended for ACC titles or upset ranked teams, even the Godzilla of a program to the east in Athens.
But that’s not the Georgia Tech of today. The Jackets have spiraled to unforeseen depths of inadequacy and humiliation. They are 10-27 since 2019 when coach Geoff Collins took over for the retiring Paul Johnson. Collins has lost eight straight games to FBS opponents — the past four by a composite score of 183-10.
Along the way, the Jackets also have dropped games to The Citadel, Temple and Northern Illinois, and last week they were blown off their home field by Ole Miss (42-0). The Rebels ran the ball 62 times for 316 yards because, in short, Tech’s defense, couldn’t stop them. Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss head coach, referenced his team’s rushing numbers as “kind of old Georgia Tech numbers” — a nod to the option offense embraced by Johnson — and said he would’ve liked to call more passing plays to give his backup quarterback some work, but he had, “empathy for what was going on in that game on the other sideline, and the hot seat, or whatever he’s on. I just didn’t really feel like it was right.”
It’s come to that — Kiffin feels sorry for an opposing coach.
This is tough on anybody who associates themselves with Georgia Tech — players, fans, alumni, boosters, employees. But it’s not tougher on anybody more than the program’s former players, many of whom now feel Collins needs to go. The Athletic spoke to four former Jackets, who played for Johnson at Tech between 2008 and 2016, a period in which the Jackets won an ACC title, had two 11-win seasons and won three times at Georgia. All four players have lost faith that Collins will be able to turn around the program and would endorse a change.
Asked if he would fire Collins if he was in charge, former fullback Zach Laskey, “I would. I don’t know what the reason is that they’re not. I’m guessing it’s a money thing. I mean, he’s done some good things, and he’s come up with some catchy slogans. But at the end of the day, I don’t care about slogans. I care about winning football games.”
Former guard Will Jackson said he doesn’t feel it’s his place to say the words, “Fire Geoff Collins,” but his comments clearly support that position.
“I’m not sure what the administration saw last season that was encouraging enough to bring him back,” Jackson said. “The way we finished last year, that decision was completely lost on me, particularly when you look at a school like Nebraska that basically sent up the Bat Signal who said, ‘We’re really serious about football, and we’re so serious that we’re going to eat X millions of dollars to get this guy out of here, sooner than later and let the next guy know we’re invested in this program.’ It felt like Georgia Tech was going in the complete opposite direction because it was clear the train was going the wrong way.”
Jackson said even with Tech’s limitations, “seven wins a year should be the floor. … I don’t speak with anyone who is positively inclined about Georgia Tech football. It’s, ‘I have better things to do on a Saturday,’ or, ‘Why am I watching Ole Miss run for 300 yards in our stadium?’”
Collins’ exit seems all but assured. Many wanted him out after a third straight three-win season, bringing his mark at Tech to 9-25. But economics likely saved him for another year. Athletic director Todd Stansbury, whose future also may be tenuous, gave Collins a seven-year contract with $15.05 million in salary when Collins was hired in December 2o18, plus other ancillary income and benefits, with no reduced buyout for an early firing without cause. Making a change after 2021 would’ve been too costly for an athletic department that doesn’t have a deep well of reserves or heavily invested boosters that other Power 5 programs possess. Per the contract, if Collins is fired after the 2022 season, he still will be owed $7.2 million: the $7.05 million balance of his salary, plus a negotiated settlement for ancillary income.
But that’s not the Georgia Tech of today. The Jackets have spiraled to unforeseen depths of inadequacy and humiliation. They are 10-27 since 2019 when coach Geoff Collins took over for the retiring Paul Johnson. Collins has lost eight straight games to FBS opponents — the past four by a composite score of 183-10.
Along the way, the Jackets also have dropped games to The Citadel, Temple and Northern Illinois, and last week they were blown off their home field by Ole Miss (42-0). The Rebels ran the ball 62 times for 316 yards because, in short, Tech’s defense, couldn’t stop them. Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss head coach, referenced his team’s rushing numbers as “kind of old Georgia Tech numbers” — a nod to the option offense embraced by Johnson — and said he would’ve liked to call more passing plays to give his backup quarterback some work, but he had, “empathy for what was going on in that game on the other sideline, and the hot seat, or whatever he’s on. I just didn’t really feel like it was right.”
It’s come to that — Kiffin feels sorry for an opposing coach.
This is tough on anybody who associates themselves with Georgia Tech — players, fans, alumni, boosters, employees. But it’s not tougher on anybody more than the program’s former players, many of whom now feel Collins needs to go. The Athletic spoke to four former Jackets, who played for Johnson at Tech between 2008 and 2016, a period in which the Jackets won an ACC title, had two 11-win seasons and won three times at Georgia. All four players have lost faith that Collins will be able to turn around the program and would endorse a change.
Asked if he would fire Collins if he was in charge, former fullback Zach Laskey, “I would. I don’t know what the reason is that they’re not. I’m guessing it’s a money thing. I mean, he’s done some good things, and he’s come up with some catchy slogans. But at the end of the day, I don’t care about slogans. I care about winning football games.”
Former guard Will Jackson said he doesn’t feel it’s his place to say the words, “Fire Geoff Collins,” but his comments clearly support that position.
“I’m not sure what the administration saw last season that was encouraging enough to bring him back,” Jackson said. “The way we finished last year, that decision was completely lost on me, particularly when you look at a school like Nebraska that basically sent up the Bat Signal who said, ‘We’re really serious about football, and we’re so serious that we’re going to eat X millions of dollars to get this guy out of here, sooner than later and let the next guy know we’re invested in this program.’ It felt like Georgia Tech was going in the complete opposite direction because it was clear the train was going the wrong way.”
Jackson said even with Tech’s limitations, “seven wins a year should be the floor. … I don’t speak with anyone who is positively inclined about Georgia Tech football. It’s, ‘I have better things to do on a Saturday,’ or, ‘Why am I watching Ole Miss run for 300 yards in our stadium?’”
Collins’ exit seems all but assured. Many wanted him out after a third straight three-win season, bringing his mark at Tech to 9-25. But economics likely saved him for another year. Athletic director Todd Stansbury, whose future also may be tenuous, gave Collins a seven-year contract with $15.05 million in salary when Collins was hired in December 2o18, plus other ancillary income and benefits, with no reduced buyout for an early firing without cause. Making a change after 2021 would’ve been too costly for an athletic department that doesn’t have a deep well of reserves or heavily invested boosters that other Power 5 programs possess. Per the contract, if Collins is fired after the 2022 season, he still will be owed $7.2 million: the $7.05 million balance of his salary, plus a negotiated settlement for ancillary income.
