ATLANTA — Less than four years after Geoff Collins arrived on campus, exuding optimism and making bold plans to compete at the highest levels of college football, Georgia Tech is in a far different position.
It’s starting over.
A month into the season, the Yellow Jackets are in a state of flux after firing Collins on Monday, a decision the school’s president said was unavoidable after the coach posted a 10-28 record. Collins’ dismal showing also took down the man who hired him, athletic director Todd Stansbury, making him the first top sports administrator the school has ever fired.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision,” Angel Cabrera, who took over as Georgia Tech’s president in September 2019, said during a news conference a day after the firing. “Ultimately, the results haven’t been there and a new approach is necessary to return our program to where it belongs.”
In a message clearly aimed at big-money donors and a disgruntled fan base, Cabrera vowed to provide whatever resources are necessary to turn around a Power Five football program that became a laughingstock under Collins. The Yellow Jackets have lost nine straight games to Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, the last five by a combined score of 210-20 with three shutouts.