Collins leaves for Georgia Tech after two seasons with Temple

Update at 11:09 a.m. on Dec. 7

Coach Geoff Collins will leave Temple University after two seasons to coach at Georgia Tech.

Special teams and tight ends coach Ed Foley will serve as interim head coach at the Independence Bowl against Duke University on Dec. 27, Athletic Director Pat Kraft said in a statement Friday.

Kraft confirmed Collins’s departure after The Athletic reported Friday morning that Georgia Tech hired Collins to replace its former coach Paul Johnson, who announced that he will retire after the Yellow Jackets’ bowl game on Dec. 26.

Temple will immediately launch a national search for a new coach, Kraft wrote.

“We have a world-class university, strong support staff, excellent facilities, passionate supporters and a very healthy culture,” Kraft wrote. “I am confident that there will be great interest in our job yet again.”

Collins is the second of the Owls’ previous three coaches to leave after two seasons.

In two seasons at Temple, Collins has a 15-10 record leading the Owls to bowl eligibility both years. Collins is the first Temple coach to lead his team to a bowl game in his first two seasons as coach. The Owls won the Gasparilla Bowl, 28-3, against Florida International University in his first season.

Collins, who is from Georgia, spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons at Georgia Tech as a graduate assistant. He served as the Yellow Jackets’ tight ends coach during the 2001 season then returned to the school in 2006 as the director of player personnel.

Temple’s 2019 recruiting class currently has 24 verbal commits. It is unsure how many recruits will retain their commitments with Collins leaving.

Foley served as the interim coach at the Military Bowl after former Temple coach Matt Rhule left for Baylor University in 2016. The Owls lost to Wake Forest University, 34-26, with Foley serving as the coach.

Georgia Tech announced Collins will lead the school in a release Friday morning. A introductory press conference featuring Collins will begin at 5 p.m and will be livestreamed on Georgia Tech’s athletic website.