Joel Collier life and biography

Entering his 20th NFL season in 2010, Joel Collier enters his second campaign as Assistant General Manager with the Chiefs. Collier assists General Manager Scott Pioli with the day-to-day football operations of the club, working closely with the coaching and player personnel staffs.

Prior to joining the Chiefs he enjoyed a three-year stint with New England (2005-07). The Patriots had a stellar season with Collier leading the club’s defensive backs in 2007. New England captured the NFL’s first 16-0 regular season record and advanced to Super Bowl XLII. Thanks in part to Collier’s secondary unit, the club ranked fourth in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 17.1 ppg.

In 2006, Collier assisted in guiding a secondary that helped the Patriots rank second in the league in scoring defense as New England established a franchise record by allowing a mere 14.8 ppg. The Patriots defensive backfield surrendered a league-low 10 TD passes, while Pro Bowl CB Asante Samuel registered a league-high 10 INTs.

After losing six members of the defensive backfield to season-ending injuries in 2005, Collier was instrumental in mentoring a secondary that allowed just 188.0 passing ypg over the club’s final seven contests. Over an eight-week midseason span the Patriots utilized six different starters at strong safety. In total, 13 different starters roamed New England’s secondary that season.

In between two separate coaching stints in New England, Collier served an 11-season tenure with Miami (’94-04). During a seven-year stretch as running backs coach (’98-04), the Dolphins produced a 1,000-yard rusher three times. Under Collier’s guidance, RB Ricky Williams assembled the finest two rushing seasons in Dolphins history with a league-leading 1,853 yards in 2002 and a 1,372-yard effort in 2003. In 2002, Williams became the first Dolphins running back to earn a Pro Bowl berth since RB Delvin Williams in ’78.

Collier was also credited with developing FB Rob Konrad into one of the league’s premier blocking fullbacks. In total, Collier helped three different Dolphins finish among the NFL’s top five rookie rushers.

Before tutoring Miami’s running backs, Collier spent four seasons as a defensive assistant (’94-97). In that role, he assisted with the club’s linebacker unit and was credited with assisting in the rapid development of LB Derrick Rodgers, who took home Sports Illustrated’s Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in ’97.

Prior to joining the Dolphins, Collier served his first tour of duty in New England. He spent two seasons as the Patriots assistant running backs/wide receivers coach (’91-92) and one season as a pro scout (’93).

Collier began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant in Tampa Bay (’90) following a two-year stay as a graduate assistant at Syracuse (’88-89), working on the same staff as current Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli. Collier was a three-year starter at inside linebacker for Northern Colorado.

The Buffalo, New York native hails from a bloodline of NFL instruction. Collier’s father, Joe Collier, served as Buffalo Bills head coach (’66-68) and spent the following 20 seasons as an assistant with Denver (’69-88). The elder Collier was the architect of the Broncos 3-4 defensive scheme of the late ’70s that became known as the “Orange Crush.” Denver would reach three Super Bowl while Collier’s father served as defensive coordinator.

Education: University of Northern Colorado (B.A. ’87). Born: Buffalo, New York. Family: Wife - Shirley Ann; Children - Jeremy Grayson and Evelyn.

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