Penn State hires new special teams coordinator to replace departed Joe Lorig

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State moved quickly to hire its new special teams coordinator to replace the departed Joe Lorig.

Less then 24 hours after Lorig was officially hired by Oregon, Penn State hired Stacy Collins to Lorig’s old post of special teams coordinator/outside linebackers/nickels coach.

Collins comes to the Nittany Lions after spending the 2021 season as the special teams coordinator and edge coach at Boise State.

“We are excited to welcome Stacy Collins to Happy Valley,” coach James Franklin said in a release. “As a veteran coach, Stacy brings a wide variety of experiences to our staff having served as a head coach, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator during his career. He will bring significant value to our program and has a great depth of special teams knowledge and has found great success as a coordinator. His coaching style on special teams will allow us to continue our strong tradition as a special teams unit.”

Collins has 24 years of collegiate coaching experience, spent almost exclusively in the western part of the country. Before Boise State, Collins coached at Utah State (2016-20), South Dakota School of Mines (2012-15), Portland State (2011), Central Washington (2008-10), Southern Oregon (2007), Idaho State (2005-06), Western Washington (2003-04), South Dakota School of Mines (2002) and Western Oregon (1998-2001).

Collins was also the defensive coordinator and interim head coach for the Vienna Vikings of the Austrian Football League from 1999-2001.

As outside linebackers and nickels coach, Collins will also work under new Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to work under the leadership of Coach Franklin and join the Penn State family,” Collins said in a release. “I look forward to developing and growing our special teams units which has had a history of success during coach’s tenure. I’m also excited to work with Coach Diaz and the defensive staff to continue to build on the strong defensive tradition of Penn State. My family and I can’t wait to start this new chapter in Happy Valley.”

Collins has held a variety of positions over the course of his career, including a four-year stint as the head coach at South Dakota School of Mines and multiple defensive coordinator stints. He’s also previously been a running backs coach, a linebackers coach and a defensive line coach.

Collins played his college football at Western Oregon, where he overlapped as a player for two seasons with Lorig in the 1990s.