| Bryan Collins | |
| Birth Date: | 30 July 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Sayville, New York, U.S. |
| Player Team1: | St. John's |
| Player Positions: | Linebacker |
| Coach Years1: | c. 1990 |
| Coach Years2: | 1991–1993 |
| Coach Team2: | C. W. Post (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1994–1995 |
| Coach Team3: | Merchant Marine (DC/LB) |
| Coach Years4: | 1996–1997 |
| Coach Team4: | C. W. Post (DC/LB) |
| Coach Years5: | 1998–2018 |
| Coach Team5: | C. W. Post / LIU Post |
| Coach Years6: | 2019–2021 |
| Coach Team6: | LIU |
| Coach Years7: | 2021–2022 |
| Coach Team7: | Stony Brook (DL) |
| Coach Years8: | 2023 |
| Coach Team8: | Stony Brook (DC) |
| Overall Record: | 162–84 |
| Tournament Record: | 3–6 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Championships: | 8 NE-10 (2001–2002, 2004–2006, 2014, 2016, 2018) 2 EFC Atlantic Division (1999–2000) 1 PSAC Eastern Division (2011) |
Bryan Collins (July 30, 1964 – July 8, 2023) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Long Island University (LIU) from 1998 to 2021, staying with the team through its merger from the Division II LIU Post Pioneers to the Division I LIU Sharks.
Collins served as the defensive line coach for the Stony Brook Seawolves for two seasons. He was promoted to defensive coordinator prior to the 2023 season, but died suddenly in July 2023 at the age of 58.[1] [2]
Collins graduated from St. John's University in Queens in 1987, where he played linebacker on the football team. He began his coaching career as an assistant football coach at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens.[3]
He was an assistant coach at C.W. Post University from 1991 to 1993 before leaving for the United States Merchant Marine Academy to become their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 1994 to 1995.
In 1996, Collins returned to C.W. Post in the same role and he was elevated to head coach in 1998. C.W. Post rebranded to the LIU Post Pioneers in 2012. Collins won eight Northeast-10 Conference championships at C.W. Post/LIU Post. As the head coach for the Post program, Collins went 160–72.[4] [5] From 2006 to 2016, Collins also served as the athletic director of the LIU Post program.[6]
After the 2018 season, the Division II LIU Post Pioneers program merged with the Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds program to become the Division I LIU Sharks. While Collins' first Division I season ended with a 0–10 record, he went 2–2 the following year in the shortened COVID-19 makeup season in 2020–21 and was nominated as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top coach in FCS football.[7] Collins suddenly stepped down from the program in June 2021. In two seasons, Collins went 2–12 as the head coach of the Sharks.[8]
On August 17, 2021, Collins was named the defensive line coach for the Stony Brook Seawolves.[9]
After two seasons, Collins was promoted to defensive coordinator in January 2023.[10] Collins died on July 8, 2023 from a sudden cardiac event at age 58 before coaching a game as the Seawolves' defensive coordinator.
Collins was married to his wife, Patti, and had two children.