After just one full season as the program's head coach at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level and an abbreviated spring 2021 slate, Bryan Collins has stepped down from the Long Island University football program.
Collins announced the move Sunday on Twitter.
This week I made the decision to turn a page. It has been a true honor to watch over the Postboyz. Thank you for 20+ years with great coaches, players and staff. 1..2..3..”POST !”#Postboyz Forever ! pic.twitter.com/qyoJqnv1VL
— Bryan Collins (@FBCoachCollins) June 27, 2021
He had helmed the Sharks' program for 23 seasons, the last 14 games of which were as an FCS competitor in the Northeast Conference.
After an 0-10 debut as a D-1 program in 2019, the Sharks engineered a bit of a breakthrough in their four-game spring season that concluded in March.
Collins helped lead LIU to season-opening and season-ending wins against Bryant University and Merrimack College, respectively.
In the process of what proved to be Collins' farewell mini-season atop the Sharks' program, he was named one of 16 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award given annually to the top coach in the FCS.
The Sharks also saw seven players honored as All-NEC in Collins' final season.
Collins was tabbed as LIU's head coach in 1998, became the program's all-time winningest leader and also spent time as the school's athletics director. His teams posted 16 winning seasons and captured seven conference championships prior to the school's leap to the D-1 level.
Though LIU has not formally commented on its plan to replace Collins, college coaches had on Sunday started the process of vetting the opportunity atop the Sharks' program, coaches with knowledge of the situation told FootballScoop.
LIU is scheduled to open its fall 2021 campaign at Florida International Sept. 2. The Sharks have two more games against Football Bowls Subdivision opponents in the ensuing weeks – at West Virginia on Sept. 11 and at Miami (Ohio) Sept. 18 before they transition into NEC play.