Collins has been an assistant at Minnesota since 2017
Minnesota is promoting safeties coach Danny Collins to defensive coordinator.
CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz was the first to report it.
He will replace previous defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, who left to take the same position with Miami (Fl.) in spite of signing a contract extension in December.
Collins has spent his entire coaching career working under P.J. Fleck, starting with a two-year stint as a defensive graduate assistant at Western Michigan. He has risen through the ranks since following Fleck to Minnesota, holding various titles — quality control, graduate assistant, and senior defensive analyst — before being promoted to safeties coach in 2022.
His play-calling experience is limited to the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl, when he served as the interim play-caller in the wake of Joe Rossi departing for Michigan State. Collins was the unofficial second-in-command under both Rossi and Hetherman, but this promotion is a leap of faith by Fleck due to the fact that he has never been a coordinator at any level.
“Danny filled in and did a great job,” Fleck said after the Gophers’ 30-24 win over Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl. “I mean, it was definitely a different person on the other side, but he was really poised. He was really confident. He believes in all of his guys.”
Fleck said his confidence in Collins’ play-calling ability stemmed from “Sunday Night Football,” a weekly scrimmage that exclusively features freshmen and other underclassmen. Collins has served as the play-caller for the Gopher defense on Sunday nights.
Fleck is also promoting Mariano Sori-Marin to linebackers coach, a role previously held by Hetherman. Sori-Marin, after closing out his playing career as a Gopher, joined the Minnesota coaching staff prior to the 2023 season as a defensive analyst. He was then promoted to nickel coach / assistant linebackers coach for the 2024 season.