SEC Football Q&A: What to Make of Geoff Collins' Move from MSU to Florida
The coaching silly season is upon us, and the wheels just keep on spinning.
Late Friday night, former Florida head coach Will Muschamp officially made the move to Auburn to become the new defensive coordinator on the Plains. Meanwhile, at his old employer, there was a possibility that new Florida head coach Jim McElwain would retain defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin to keep some continuity in Gainesville.
Apparently, that's not happening.
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Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday that Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins will join McElwain's Florida staff in the same role.
What does the move mean for Florida and Mississippi State? That question and more are answered in this week's SEC Q&A.
I love the hire for Florida and McElwain.
Sure, Collins' defenses haven't been stellar in Starkville. In fact, only one—2011—has finished in the top 50 nationally in yards per play. But they are lights out in the red zone, finishing in the top two in the SEC in red-zone touchdown percentage twice over the last four seasons (2011 and 2014).
He's more set in his 4-3 ways than Florida's previous regime, led by Muschamp and Durkin, but the Gators have the talent and experience to be able to pick it up without missing much of a beat.
What's really interesting is that it all but assures that Durkin will be gone and could be what sends defensive backs coach and ace recruiter Travaris Robinson packing (perhaps to his alma mater Auburn to join Muschamp). The latter would hurt recruiting, but it would also serve as a sign that McElwain is making the program his own and creating its own identity.
That's a good thing for Florida even if there are some speed bumps along the way.
For Mississippi State, the $64,000 question becomes, "Is Collins' lateral move a sign that head coach Dan Mullen could be moving on?"
I'm not so sure that's the case. Sure, there have been reports that Mullen is high on Michigan's list, but as of now, there has been no official contact, according to Michael Bonner of The Clarion-Ledger.
If it's related to anything, it's likely more related to the way the season ended.
According to Bonner, Mullen ripped his defensive staff following the 31-17 Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss that saw the Bulldogs give up 537 yards.
"That's just absolutely pathetic," Mullen said. "That's a terrible job by our defensive coaching staff."
Could Collins' move be related to his head coach throwing him under the bus? Maybe and maybe not although Mullen didn't seem to be too much of a fan of it, according to Brandon Walker of The Commercial Dispatch.
Before everybody freaks out, yes, it is a lateral move by definition. Plus, following a 10-2 season and two years of Florida struggles, Mullen should have a high opinion of his program.
Whatever the reason for Collins' move, though, there are plenty of coaches available who could come in and take over in Starkville (Ed Orgeron and Manny Diaz, I'm looking in your direction).
The combination of head coach Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will keep Auburn in the thick of the SEC West race on an annual basis and will raise the floor of a program that hasn't had back-to-back double-digit-win seasons since 1988 and 1989.
A 10-win season and a SEC West title are not out of the question. In fact, they both should be expected.
Auburn gets Alabama and Georgia at home, draws Kentucky as its rotating SEC East opponent and worked that game into a Thursday night showdown, which adds a semi-bye week into a schedule that only includes one true bye week for SEC schools.
There isn't a surefire loss on the schedule. I'll toss Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and LSU into the "toss-up" category, and Auburn gets all but LSU at home.
I'll say 10-2, with losses to Alabama and either Ole Miss or LSU, and on the outside looking in of the SEC Championship Game.
It would not surprise me in the least bit, though, if the Tigers make a run to the second annual College Football Playoff.
It's rather simple—defensive consistency.
It was something that plagued Georgia under former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and something that, while improved, still jumped up and bit the Bulldogs in Jeremy Pruitt's first year as defensive coordinator.
It would have been tough for Florida to gain 445 yards against air this year, but it managed to pull that off against a Georgia defense despite only running six passing plays. Florida was one-dimensional by necessity, and it didn't matter. That was a game Georgia needed to win to get to Atlanta, and it fell flat on its face.
The Bulldogs closed the season by getting lit up by Georgia Tech to the tune of 463 yards, marking the first loss to the intra-state rival Yellow Jackets since 2008 and second of head coach Mark Richt's 14-year Georgia career.
Another year in the system will help Georgia's talented roster become more comfortable with what Pruitt wants to do, but significant roster turnover, including cornerback Damian Swann and linebackers Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson, could prevent that defense from being as consistent as it needs to be in order to make a run in 2015.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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