Imagine how many more great safeties we would've recruited to the U and how many first day draft picks we would've had at safety in lieu of what we've seen if we would've hired a manly man at safety coach who played football like a big boy instead of Collins.
Collins has proven he knows what he's doing as a position coach and is being given the opportunity to show he'll catch on as a DC. He's earned some leash based on merit, he also ran a defense with tolerable stats.
2025 Defense across all FBS:
41st in total yards allowed
66th in pass ypg allowed
31st in rush ypg allowed
28th in first downs pg allowed
58th in ppg allowed (23.8)
He's earned the chance for another year. We've been spoiled by some very above average defenses in the recent past. Some of you seem to only remember the big plays we've given up, or questionable formation decisions, but the defense overall was average at worst this year.