Despite only having four full seasons under his belt in USL Championship, newly-appointed Republic FC Head Coach Neill Collins will come to the Indomitable City as one of the top managers in league history.
After making a literal overnight transition from player to coach midway through the 2018 campaign, the Scotsman quickly found his footing and kicked off one of the most dominant multi-season performances by any team.
From league records and impressive scoring performances, to individual awards and multiple trophies, here’s a look at Collins’ numbers with the Tampa Bay Rowdies from 2019-2022:
69 regular season wins
The most of any USL club in this stretch. During the 2021 campaign, the Rowdies went on a 9-game win streak (3rd longest streak in USL Championship) and held opponents scoreless for 891 consecutive minutes, the best mark in league history.
237 goals
No other team found the back of the net more over this period. In 2022, the squad posted a 73-goal regular season, the 5th highest scoring campaign of all time. Three of the four seasons saw Tampa Bay earn a goal differential of at least 20 goals (the outlier came during the shortened 2020 season), including a dominant +40 performance in 2022.
2 Eastern Conference titles
After leading Rowdies back to the postseason in 2019, Collins led the club to three consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Final, claiming the Conference title in back-to-back years (2020, 2021) and becoming the only team to reach the USL Championship Final twice between 2020 and 2022.
1 Coach of the Year, 4 Coach of the Month honors
One of the most decorated head coaches during this period, Collins got the nod for the league’s top manager in 2021 after leading Rowdies to win the Players’ Shield with a 71-point season (6th best in league history).
14 Player Awards
The Rowdies’ collective success was also mirrored by its players, many of whom played their best soccer under Collins, earning multiple individual honors, including:
- 1 x USL Championship Player of the Year
- 1 x USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year
- 1 x Golden Glove
- 2 x USL Championship Defender of the Year
- 6 x All-League First Team selections
- 3 x All-League Second Team Selections
Tampa Bay would continue their accomplishments in 2023, closing out Collins’ time with the club on an 11-game undefeated streak.
