I'll add to that. Doug Weaver was the AD. Dwayne Morrison was the basketball coach. We went 4-23 and 0-14 in conference play. Football was even worse. Petit was threatening to shut down athletics ENTIRELY. Kim King led a group of alumni into his office on the Hill and threatened him that if he did, he would petition the BOR and the Governor for his removal.
Kelly was good and that's why Spurrier was on staff as he was good friends with Pepper Rogers.
Still, as HG pointed out, the facilities were primitive. There would not be an Edge Building for another few years as Homer Rice still had to work on getting donors. The entire athletics program at that time was pitiful. Our choices were Curry or ... a retired Atlanta Falcons coach, Norm van Brocklin.
Collins inherited a functional team, facilities, showers that don't surge 100 degrees when the toilets flush, and some semblence of a donor program. No comparison whatsoever.