ATLANTA (AP) Geoff Collins has toned down the hokey slogans that were part of his blueprint to build a proud, new brand at Georgia Tech.
He seems to realize there’s only one thing that really matters.
Winning.
After three seasons that each produced only three victories, Collins heads into Year 4 likely needing to show significant improvement to keep his job.
Only one other coach in Georgia Tech’s modern era has gone this deep into his tenure with a worse record than Collins’ 9-25 mark. That was Bill Curry, who was 8-24-1 at the three-year mark but at least saw signs of hope coming off a 6-5 campaign.
Not so for this Georgia Tech squad, which was outscored 100-0 by Notre Dame and eventual national champion Georgia in its final two games of 2021.
”We’re all tired of losing,” Collins said Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Yellow Jackets opened their preseason camp. ”We want to play a really good brand of football. We want to make everybody proud who supports Georgia Tech.”
Everyone knew the road would be a bit bumpy after Collins took over in 2019, especially with the jarring transition from a run-oriented, option offense favored by his predecessor, Paul Johnson, to a pro-style attack.
Yet no one expected the Yellow Jacket to look like they’re starting over again this deep into the Collins era.
At the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason media event, Georgia Tech was picked to finish sixth in the Coastal Division, ahead of only Duke.
With a brutal schedule that includes three 10-win teams in the first five games – starting with Clemson on Labor Day at nearby Mercedes-Benz Stadium – it’s hard to envision a path that leads the Yellow Jackets to a better showing than last year’s 3-9 mark.
Collins is under as much heat as any coach in the country (well, perhaps excluding Auburn’s Bryan Harsin) and knows he’s got to show tangible proof that he’s got the program headed in the right direction.
That means actual wins, not just words.
His players know it, too.
”We know it hasn’t been the best couple of seasons,” senior receiver Malachi Carter said. ”But if we dwell on that, this won’t be a good season, either.”
During a nearly half-hour session with the media at Georgia Tech’s indoor practice facility, Collins never mentioned the ”404 culture,” his love of Waffle House or any of the other Atlanta-centric references he harped on during his first three years in hopes of giving his program a big-city appeal to potential recruits.
The incessant selling…