As Paul Johnson coaches his final game with Georgia Tech in the Quick Lane Bowl next week, so will every member on his coaching staff. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports new Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins will not keep any of Johnson’s assistants on the staff moving forward as a new era is ushered in.
This is hardly unexpected, of course, as most new head coaches will often wipe the slate clean on the coaching staff to bring in their trusted assistants. It is also common for at least a couple of assistants to be held over from the previous coaching staff, but that will apparently not be the case with the Yellow Jackets. The slight concern may be Collins bringing together a staff that seemingly abandons all previous relationships that have been established by the former staff, but Collins and his staff shouldn’t take long establishing new pipelines in Georgia and around the surrounding region.
Two assistants reportedly coming to Georgia Tech with Collins will be defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker, a Georgia native, and defensive backs coach Nathan Burton, a Georgia Tech alum. Collins is also a native from the state of Georgia and he has his own connections to the region having previously been an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and at other programs such as Alabama, UCF, Mississippi State, and Florida. Collins will have a feel for recruiting the south as he looks to change the way Georgia Tech operates.
Johnson announced his retirement from Georgia Tech at the end of the regular season and his retirement will be effective at the completion of Georgia Tech’s bowl matchup with Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
