On Tuesday, December 13th, Temple University announced that Geoff Collins would be the new head coach of the football team.
Collin’s most current position was the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Florida (sorry, Gators). He was at Florida for the past two football seasons. Collins has also coached at Mississippi State, UCF, Albright College, Florida International University, Georgia Tech, and Alabama.
According to ESPN, Florida ranked sixth and seventh nationally in defense with Collins as the Defensive Coordinator.
On Wednesday, December 14, Coach Collins arrived in Philadelphia sporting a red tie and a Temple “T” pin. He was welcomed by the Diamond Marching Band, cheerleaders, the Diamond Gems, students, and staff.
Collins was presented with a Temple Football jersey with his name across the back. His introduction was followed by a press conference.
“Toughness. That’s what this place is about,” said Collins at the press conference.
He does not have any head coaching experience at the college level, but served as the head coach for Franklin High School in 1995.
Collins toured the city of Philadelphia with various media outlets, talking about his plans for the school and his excitement about coaching.
“I met with the team yesterday, and you can just see the look in their eyes how intense they are, how much they love football. They do things the right way,” said Collins in an interview with Good day Philadelphia.
Collins will serve as Temple’s 27th head football coach.
“Play tough, play physical, play disciplined. That’s what people want to see, and that’s who I’ve always been,” said Collins. “And you see those kids in that team meeting yesterday-that’s who they are too. That’s this city, that’s the Temple fan base, that’s me. Let’s go.”
The coaching change was initiated after it was announced on December 6th that Matt Rhule would be leaving for Baylor University. Rhule was with Temple for four seasons, according to ESPN.
The news of Rhule’s departure was met with sadness but followed by well wishes.
Tyler Matakevich, a 2015 graduate from Temple University and a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers tweeted a picture with Rhule saying. “This man changed my life. Gave me an opportunity when no one else would. He believed in me and that’s why I love him. Happy for you coach!”
The Owls has a 10-3 record this season under Matt Rhule. They won the American Athletic Conference Division Title after beating East Carolina 37-10. They qualified for the American Athletic Conference Championship game against Navy. They clinched the title after beating Navy 34-10.
Ed Foley, the assistant head coach, will be in charge of managing the team at the Bowl Game on December 27 against Wake Forest. If Temple wins this game, it would set a school record for single-season wins, according to Philly.com.
“I’m so excited to be here. It is a dream come true to be the head coach of Temple University,” said Collins.
Welcome to the Temple family, Coach Collins!