Kentucky football DB coach Chris Collins signs two-year contract

Coming off a season in which Kentucky football’s pass defense ranked top-10 nationally, assistant coach Chris Collins has earned himself a new contract with the Wildcats.

Collins, who has been Kentucky’s defensive backs coach since June 2021, recently agreed to a two-year deal to stay in Lexington. The contract was agreed upon by Collins and UK earlier this month and will run from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025, according to UK’s Office of Legal Counsel.

Collins will earn $375,000 in the first year of this new deal with a slight raise to $400,000 in year two. His initial contract with Kentucky previously expired.

With Collins coaching the secondary, Kentucky ranked seventh in the nation in 2022 in terms of passing yards allowed, giving up just 173.8 yards per game through the air — second-best in the Southeastern Conference. UK ranked 56th nationally in passing yards per game (222.8) during his first season with the program but took a significant leap this past season under his leadership.

Collins is also filling in nicely as a recruiter for the Wildcats in Georgia, particularly out of the Atlanta area, and central Florida. He assisted in bringing transfers Zion Childress and Jordan Robinson to the UK secondary and was the lead recruiter for three-star DL freshman Tavion Gadson. Collins is also credited with securing commitments from four-star LB Grant Godfrey and three-star S Jaremiah Anglin — two incoming freshmen for 2023.