North Fulton Today

What a difference a week makes for the Georgia Tech football team. 

Football Coach Geoff Collins and Athletic Director Todd Stansbury were both informed that they were being relieved of their duties during a Sept. 26 meeting that was only open to board members, according to Fox5 Atlanta.

After hearing the news that their head coach was fired, the Yellow Jackets responded with a 26-21 upset win over No. 24 Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct. 1.

“I’ve known these guys have had it in them all along, and we just needed to get them on the same page,” interim head coach Brent Key said in an interview with the ACC Network after the win over Pittsburgh. “The coaches rallied them together, kept them focused on the mission, one day at a time, one play at a time to get this win.”

Entering the game against the host Panthers as a three-touchdown underdog, the Ramblin' Wreck pulled off its gritty win via a strong ground game, powered by Hassan Hall (20 carries, 157 yards) and quarterback Jeff Sims (19 carries, 81 yards). 

The victory puts the Yellow Jackets (2-3, 1-1) one game behind Duke and North Carolina (both 4-1, 1-0) in the ACC Coastal Division. 

Suddenly, the Yellow Jackets’ outlook appears decidedly brighter after their sluggish start under Collins, who thought he would remain as head coach.

“I just stood in front of the team, a bunch of young men that I absolutely love, and my expectation is to continue coaching this football team,” Collins said after the team’s 27-10 loss against Central Florida on Sept. 24. 

During his time at the university, Collins posted a 10-28 overall record, including a 3-9 finish in 2021 that included losses to Notre Dame and Georgia by a combined score of 100-0 and over their last four games against Power 5 opponents Collins’ teams have been outscored 183-10.

Following their most recent loss to Central Florida, Collins said he expected to remain coach, insisting "We just went out there against a really good football team and competed and played really good football at times outside of unfortunate self-inflicted mistakes. The guys were ready to go out there and play at a high level. We just fell short at some critical times."

Collins is owed over $11 million as part of his contract buyout.

Georgia Tech hosts Duke (4-1, 1-0) on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is 3 p.m. (Central Standard Time) at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN 3.