Collins report card after 2 seasons

[Deleted member 2897]

Depends totally on how you grade. The ACC sports media expected us to go 0-11 this year. They expected us to finish last in the conference last year too. All of our stats were significantly better this year with the exception of a few like kicking, turnovers, and penalties. We were immensely more competitive this year and had a chance in the 4th quarter to beat UCF, Syracuse, Boston College, and Pittsburgh, being within 1 score. Honestly I'm not sure how to grade him. He definitely hit expectations on recruiting...possibly even exceeded when you consider all the highly rated people he's gotten in the transfer market. Offense improved massively this year. Felt like defense digressed. But its a covid year. His quality of in-game coaching has underwhelmed me at times. I'd probably if forced to grade give him a bunch of different grades by category. They would vary from A to B to C to D to F to incomplete depending on that category.

 

[AUFC]

B - I wasn't really expecting a bowl appearance by 2020 like I think most of you all were. We are right about where I hoped we would be when Collins was hired. Great recruiting, culture overhaul is well underway, and we've got absolute studs at the skill positions to grow with. We are significantly better in December 2020 than we were in August 2019. I will re-evaluate in 2022 but right now I think we look poised to see Clemson in December 2022, which is exactly what I asked for when Collins was hired. Comfortably passing grade for Collins from me but I wouldn't hand him high honors yet.

This was mentioned earlier in the thread by a poster, but I do want to re-iterate I don't care about how a bunch of message board boomers feel about #404theculture and #juice and money down. If a 6'2 190lb 16yo from Grayson HS 5* WR who runs a 4.4 40-yard dash likes it, that's good enough for me.

 

[CrackerJacket]

I - Incomplete. But I'm not a happy camper. If covid is a memory next fall and we have another 3-win season, CGC will be on the hot seat.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I would give him a C-.... it would be worse but with the good recruiting I give him a passing grade . I know this is a huge transition & he’s putting square pegs in round holes by using 3option players for his system , but if I had told you when we hired him that after his first 2 years he’d have won 6 games combined we’d all be disappointed ! I know the season isn’t technically over but we have about as much of a chance playing pick up sticks with our butt cheeks as we do beating Miami ! And the excuses he’s making after games is getting old

I would give him an Incomplete. Under the circumstances, it is really not fair to have expected more in a season like this one. In the preseason, I predicted that we would win four and we would have if allowed to play Gardner Webb. That said, in no way is this a good or even an average team. We are pretty bad on both sides of the ball and the lines are still a mess. This is going to take a long time to get fixed. Just having a difference maker at quarterback and running back will not get it done. I will reserve judgement on Coach Collins until the end of next year. For now, he gets a mulligan.

 

[augustabuzz]

I will wait until all data points are available for this year.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

B - I wasn't really expecting a bowl appearance by 2020 like I think most of you all were. We are right about where I hoped we would be when Collins was hired. Great recruiting, culture overhaul is well underway, and we've got absolute studs at the skill positions to grow with. We are significantly better in December 2020 than we were in August 2019. I will re-evaluate in 2022 but right now I think we look poised to see Clemson in December 2022, which is exactly what I asked for when Collins was hired. Comfortably passing grade for Collins from me but I wouldn't hand him high honors yet.

This was mentioned earlier in the thread by a poster, but I do want to re-iterate I don't care about how a bunch of message board boomers feel about #404theculture and #juice and money down. If a 6'2 190lb 16yo from Grayson HS 5* WR who runs a 4.4 40-yard dash likes it, that's good enough for me.

Hope you enjoy it because if he does not start winning games next year, the Juice, the money down, the culture and #404 won't be worth a bucket of warm spit.

 

[tmhunter52]

The AD isn’t going to be able to sell warm fuzzies to the backers with bucks if Coach Collins continues to hemorrhage losses. Head Coaches are judged by their W/L records, not all that other “stuff”. So, unless he turns the Titanic in time, well, you know the outcome.

 

[JacketOff]

Does anybody legitimately think the team hasn’t improved since last year? It’s clear as day to anybody that actually watches the games that this year’s team is drastically better than last year’s. The offense is light years better than last year, with a true FR at QB that didn’t even get a spring camp. The defense was a little disappointing, but given how seemingly strict Collins was with Covid protocols early in the year, it’s honestly not that surprising.

I thought last year’s team would win 3 games. Granted the 3 they won weren’t necessarily the 3 I thought they would win, but they got 3 nonetheless. I thought 4-7 would be this year’s record post Covid rescheduling. So technically I do think we underachieved this year. But with all the outstanding circumstances I’m not necessarily disappointed. Plus, there’s still a chance to get that mark next week, albeit a pretty slight one. Next year, with a full spring camp, I 100% believe the results will show up in the W/L column like they did on the stat sheet and to the eye test this year. I’ll put $100 on Tech winning 6 and making a bowl game next year if anybody is convinced Collins and Co. really aren’t the right people for their jobs.

 

[buzzed]

The circumstances of this year make it difficult to judge but I’m not impressed. Getting a difference maker like Gibbs is refreshing, but Gailey had the ability to recruit a few difference makers too and it never amounted to anything. O’Leary could recruit AND had great assistants. The jury is still out on our current assistants. I do like that in Collins we have a coach who is trying to strongly leverage our location in the heart of Atlanta. I hope his approach works but this staff has been repeatedly blown out by teams with marginally better talent. So if we really can recruit with the big boys, I hope we can do something with the talent.

 

[Tadams6599]

For every fan that is ready to pounce on Collins, do you even know football? It’ll be awesome watching how fast you flip once he is a winner. I don’t think anyone could’ve done any better up to this point. In this fast food short attention span country we live In people expect instant results. The future is bright in my opinion, but some will only claim the sky is falling because they had to wait 5 minutes in line at McDonald’s.

 

[A Love Supreme]

In my opinion, Collins still has not proven that he is a good head coach. Our two previous coaches were proven winners before they got to Tech. All the hype and "Juice" stuff is cool but you got to win games. It looks like back to back 3 win seasons. Collins gets an F.

 

[MGTfan]

B-.

Losses have been disappointing, but expected. The offense is showing clear improvement over last year. I’ve been impressed with a lot of the younger players who have played.

I need to continue to see improvement on both sides of the ball next year to be happy. Right now, I FEEL like we are moving in the right direction, but don’t know for sure. At the end of next year, I need to KNOW we are moving in the right direction or I’m going to be concerned.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I’m giving him all the time in the world, but I want that time to be used wisely. Why #1 and #2 on defense get snaps over the younger guys bothers me. We were going to lose the games we lost and we will lose to Miami. I have no problem with that. But let’s lose why the young guys get reps. He’s doing it with Sims so put them all in there. Watching #1 and #2 constantly out of position and 2 steps behind is maddening. They are the past not the future. And #3 isn’t far behind them in being irrelevant.

 

[Backstreetbuzz]

A. He has almost completely reworked the roster in 2 years. He has kept several players who can play, but is well on his way to replacing those who cannot with players who can. GT has gone from trending down, to trending up. Recruits and sidewalk fans are noticing. My golfing buddies are now watching GT and interested in GT, saying stuff like that Sims and Gibbs are going to be good. My neighbor, retired NFL tight end, recently said GT is going to be “good” in a couple of years. GT finally has some “buzz”, no pun intended.

 

[stech81]

I’m giving him all the time in the world,

All the time is a long time to keep losing at some point they need to win. year 1 I was ok , this year 2 I would have liked to win more than 3 games but the fact is with the virus and 3 weeks of next playing I can live with it . Next year 3 I need to see improvement ( with more wins ) by year 4 I better see at least 8 wins if we have not improved by year 4 it's time to realize that we made the wrong pick ( but I understand that injuries can change things )

 

[Oakland]

Instead of Collins I'm going to use the football staff.
Being at the game last night I thought what a mess this team is with all of the penalties. Then I thought how well some of the second string guys were doing. I go back and forth on this staff. I want to give them a "D", but in reality they probably deserves a "C". My problem is the suspect game planning, multiple penalties, and ball security. Hats off to the staff for their recruiting efforts. Much credit to Coach Choice and some of the defensive assistants.

 

[g0lftime]

I am most disappointed with the way they have put all his eggs into the Sims basket. Absolutely has not even tried to develop a backup when there have been times the game was out of hand and took a chance with getting him injured. Looks like Gleason is gone and I don't blame him. If Yates decides to leave it could be disastrous next year. One hit away from no experience.
The guys from my frat from the late sixties have absolutely no use for Collins. The wreck is not in his "branding" plan and navy is our new color. Our colors are old gold and white. We are not Atlanta Tech either. The ATL thing is sorta clever.
He better start winning more games in the next couple of years or he will lose his older fan base and he is already on his way. Winning will fix some of this but so far he has only shown me that he has to have superior talent to compete and hasn't outcoached anyone. He probably is a fun coach to play for and he genuinely seems to care for his players. He needs to upgrade his staff if he wants to challenge the top tier teams. So far we are a bottom feeder with Duke and Syracuse and FSU. I am not a Collins hater. Just being objective.
He gets partial credit for a D+.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

If not for the penalties and turnovers and questionable in-game decision making, I might could give CGC a C+. But, I cannot get past the Citadel loss last year and the Syracuse loss this year - I think those were really, really bad losses even with the talent we had. I agree that CGC is still completely unproven as a P5 head coach, or a head coach at any level. He is my school's coach, and I am rooting for him, but his recruiting improvements will never be enough if he and the staff cannot "coach up" guys and create a level of discipline that needs to exist for 18-22 year olds. Also, I don't care what anyone says - these high school kids are watching our games, and if they don't like what they see, and they have other options, they will start to go elsewhere, no matter how much they "love the culture". So, I am concerned with him keeping the recruiting "momentum" through some of these performances, especially since we need so many big nasties on the lines.

So, for now, I agree with the C-, and I actually think that is being very fair. But, because of Covid and injuries and other issues this year, I think he gets somewhat of a "pass". I believe our ceiling next year is 5 wins. If he gets there or higher, I will definitely move the grade significantly. I just don't think our OL or DL can improve enough by 2021 to make it to 0.500. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Sheboygan]

Right now , I give him ( and his staff ) a C with the "curve". When they are compared to other teams with relatively new staffs, Tech is in the middle. Better than FSU and
( currently) Louisvllle, but not as good as Miami or BC. Granted each coach has different circumstances, but I think these are the teams we should compare ourselves with at this time. IMO, Diaz and Hafley made very smart decisions early on at their respective schools: Diaz brought in Lashlee as new OC after their horrible first year. And, Hafley brought in respected offensive and defensive coordinators with successful NFL records ( especially Cignetti as OC ) and it shows in the improvement Miami made over year one, and BC has made over the course of this year. It remains to be seen if CGC will make any moves this offseason, but IMO he should think long and hard about it. I worry about the non physical parts of the game, where we seem to be making little progress - penalties, eye discipline, pursuit angles, clock management, etc.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

In my opinion, Collins still has not proven that he is a good head coach. Our two previous coaches were proven winners before they got to Tech. All the hype and "Juice" stuff is cool but you got to win games. It looks like back to back 3 win seasons. Collins gets an F.

We won 3 more games than the “experts” predicted we’d win. In 4 other games we were within 1 score in the 4th quarter. Offensive statistics grew 50% this year.