New coach Jim McElwain has made his first hire. Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins has been picked for the same position at Florida, the school announced Wednesday and he will replace current defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin following Florida’s final game of the season in the Birmingham Bowl Jan. 3.
“I got to know Geoff personally during my time at Alabama and have stayed in touch with him since and his defenses have been successful everywhere he has been,” McElwain said in a release. “It was important to maintain some of the same philosophies and concepts that have made the defenses around here successful with this hire and our players will continue to progress under his direction.”
Although the two were not on the staff at the same time, both have ties to Alabama. Collins served as director of player personnel with the Crimson Tide in 2007, the year before McElwain’s four-year run in Tuscaloosa began.
From there Collins spent two seasons at UCF as linebackers coach, then another at FIU, where he got his first FBS defensive coordinator job. In 2011, he joined Dan Mullen at Mississippi State co-coordinating the defense and then took over the position by himself in 2013. Collins also coached linebackers at FIU and MSU.
The end of his tenure with the Bulldogs was not without fireworks. After a 31-17 loss to rival Mississippi, Mullen — a former UF offensive coordinator — publicly called out his entire defensive coaching staff after the unit gave up over 500 yards in the defeat.
"That's just absolutely pathetic," Mullen said. "That's a terrible job by our defensive coaching staff."
According to reports, McElwain spoke with Mullen on Tuesday to ask for permission to speak to Collins. On Wednesday before the move was made official, Mullen commented on the situation saying "I hope our guys have opportunities to go be head coaches more than leaving for lateral positions.”
In 2013, Mississippi State finished 18th in yards per game allowed, 22nd in passing yards per game allowed and 38th in rushing yards per game. This season, the Bulldogs have taken a step back, at 82nd in total yards per game allowed. That was mostly due to a pass defense that was fourth worst statistically out of 128 FBS teams. The Bulldogs were ranked 25th in rush defense nationally.
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New head football coach Jim McElwain following his introductory press conference on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
