Neill Collins is one of the most decorated coaches in the USL Championship’s history, having led the Tampa Bay Rowdies to two Eastern Conference titles in 2020 and 2021 and the Players’ Shield in the latter of those two seasons.

Individually, he claimed the Championship’s Coach of the Year award in 2021 and was on four occasions voted the league’s Coach of the Month. He currently sits on 95 victories as a Head Coach in the Championship across the regular season and playoffs, five wins from joining the trio of Bob Lilley, Mike Anhaeuser and Mark Briggs in recording a century of wins in the league’s current era.

Almost a year-and-a-half since his departure from the Rowdies midway through the 2023 season to become the manager at EFL League One club Barnsley FC, the Scottish manager returned to the USL Championship this offseason as the new Head Coach at Sacramento Republic FC.

We sat down recently with Collins to discuss his approaching landmark, the differences between being a coach in the United States and the United Kingdom, what he learned about himself from his time at Barnsley FC and Raith Rovers, and what it would mean to bring another Championship title to Heart Health Park.

Editor’s Note: The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length, and occurred prior to the USL’s announcement of the planned implementation of promotion and relegation this week.

Q: You’re five wins away from reaching a century mark in the USL Championship as a Head Coach. Only three other people have reached that mark in the current era, does a landmark like that represent something for you?

Neill Collins: Absolutely, it does. I think on the basis of what you just mentioned there, the fact that only three other coaches have done it up to this point, it’s something that I would be very proud to achieve, but equally it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s not something I think about every day, but just when these things crop up, it’s always nice. It's like beating records. It’s not something you think about at the start, but when they come up and when you achieve them, it’s always nice, because it probably shows that you’ve been able to be consistent over a period.

But the big thing about anything like that, in a team sport like football, so many people are part of that, and I’m just one of those parts, but, yes, it’s definitely something that when they happen, you respect it for what it is, and then you want to just go on to try to get whatever's next.

Q: What's the most important part of being a coach?

NC: I think the biggest thing for me is probably trying to help people reach their potential or make people better. To be very simple, I think that’s really what the job of the coach is, how you do that, whether it’s with tactics, with man-management, with your training, with whatever it is that you do, can you impact people to help them improve, and obviously teams to improve. That’s my take on it.

I think you've also got the fact that, whether they like or not, England’s probably a one-sport country. Many people would argue that, but it’s really a one-sport country. It always dominates the headlines. In the USA, people support different teams from different sports and different backgrounds, and they support them passionately as well, but just with that, maybe they don’t live it the way a lot of fans back home, [where] that passion then spills over to some of the things we see.

So, it's hard to say, but definitely, maybe the pressures and the rewards that go along with the difference between being in the EFL Championship or the Premier League is billions and millions of pounds and not having that pyramid system here may mean that clubs can afford to give people more time, but it's definitely something that exists from a competitive standpoint.

Q: Do you think it would change the dynamics within the USL should promotion and relegation be introduced at some point down the line, as has been suggested by league leadership?

NC: I think it would definitely change. The dynamics would be that if a team had 10 games left and they were potentially going to get relegated, you’re more inclined to make a change, and the easiest thing to change is normally the coach. Whereas if you have 10 games left and you’re going to finish bottom of a league that you can’t get relegated out of, maybe you’re like, let's not make a change, and let’s learn our lessons.

I’m not saying there’s a right or wrong. I think that's just human nature to make these decisions based on that. So, it definitely could change those dynamics. In my experience, though, again, sports across all America just has a little bit more patience, a little bit more support, so they maybe trust the kind of process and that a little bit more. But it will certainly be interesting to see what happens if and when promotion and relegation comes into play.

Q: What did you learn about yourself from your experiences at Barnsley and Raith Rovers?

NC: I think the Barnsley one was the biggest learning experience. I learned a lot about what I value the most. I really loved every day in Tampa, and I never took that for granted, but quite quickly at Barnsley I recognized even more just how much I valued the people that I worked with, certainly above me, and the autonomy they gave me, and the opportunity they gave me to shape [the team]. That’s something that I think was really important to me, as opposed to just coaching the team, I wanted to shape the team and shape the bigger vision of the club. That was probably the biggest thing, Nicholas, and the fact that I just love working with players. I love working with players that are so bought in to be part of that club. So, that was definitely one of the biggest things for me.

Q: As a coach, what are your non-negotiables?

NC: Honestly, I’m a big believer that it’s very, very difficult to have black-and-white non-negotiables, We need to work differently with different people because people are all very different, and times are constantly changing and adapting and moving. I think I would say more than non-negotiables, Nicholas, I have maybe got certain values that I want my teams to have and want people that play in those teams to represent, but I also recognize the none of us are perfect. We all can have a bad day or a day off, make mistakes.

So, all the basic things that you'd expect. You want people to work hard. You want people to have a right attitude. But the minute someone doesn't work hard, does that mean you just get rid of them? No, you don’t. You have to still work with them. So, for me, it’s just about having those values and trying to make sure the team reflects those values as often as possible and as consistent as a basis as possible.

Q: How much do you think the USL Championship has changed between when you first became the Rowdies Head Coach in 2018 to now?

NC: I think it’s changed in respect to the standard’s just got better and better. I think the competition’s become better and more competitive. I think when I look back over a year or two, there were certain teams that you expected to beat, like, nine times out of 10. You were disappointed to drop points to certain teams.

I think now every game, when you look at the schedule, anyone can beat anyone. By and large, I think the leagues are very, very tight. The Western Conference last year showed you that, plenty of the bigger clubs struggled. Clubs like Las Vegas, who were so well coached by Dennis [Sanchez], did a great job, and I think that’s where the league’s just progressed.  And as I say, more, better clubs coming in with better stadiums, I think the league's just been an upward trajectory since 2018.

Q: What's your fondest memory of leading the Rowdies?

NC: So many, Nicholas, I could name five or six quite easily off the top of my head, but I go back to winning the Eastern Conference in Louisville [in 2020] because I think that was a landmark for us as a team in terms of where we wanted to be. We wanted to be in those games. We recognize that Louisville had been the most dominant team in the East and to go to their stadium and win the Eastern Conference, I think it gave us all belief, so I look back at that very fondly.

Q: Are you looking forward to going back to Al Lang Stadium in September?

NC: Absolutely. It’s not really on my radar right now, got a lot of work to do. I’m more concerned about Colorado Springs [this] week at Heart Health Park, but when the time comes around, I’ll look forward to what will be a very, very tough game, a game that I want to go and try and do everything I can to win, but I’ll also enjoy it. That’s one thing in my career as a player, as a coach, the ability to go back to a club that you played for, and had great memories for, is one of the nice parts of football.

Q: There are big things on the horizon for Republic FC beyond the game, with the Railyards Stadium leading the way. What does it mean to be part of a club with that level of aspiration?

NC: That’s why I’m sitting here talking to you, Nicholas. I’ve said it before, I was very happy at Raith Rovers, good club, good people, felt there was a good job to do there, but for the reasons you just mentioned, Sacramento, new stadium, training facility, good history, but an exciting future. I think it’s just, again, a sign of where the game’s going in the U.S., where the game's going in the USL. To be part of a club with those ambitions and plans is very exciting.

Q: What's it been like to become part of the Sacramento community in the past few months?

NC: Yeah, I think it’s been great. As you can imagine I’ve had a lot on my plate with getting the family settled, getting the team organized in terms of preseason. So, I had my hands full, but I think Saturday evening, my first-ever game at Heart Health, told me everything I need to know. We’ve got a very, very passionate fan base, a large fan base, so it was an excellent atmosphere, and I can tell just how proud people are of Sacramento as a city and how proud they are of their football team, so [I’m happy] to be part of that and build on what they’ve already got.

Q: Republic FC has been hunting for its second league title since it won it all in its inaugural season. Personally, it’s the one trophy you haven’t lifted yet in the Championship. How much does that drive you to find a way to achieve that at the end of the season?

NC: I mean, it massively drives me. It’s one of the reasons I’m here. We want to win trophies, I want to be part of a club that is that desperate to do that. I know how hard it is to put yourself in position to do that, so that’s why you can’t take for granted how hard the work is, all the hours that have to go in from a lot of people, but memories you make along the way are what makes it so enjoyable.

I think I learned a lot from the final that we did manage to play [in Tampa Bay]. It’s unfortunate, getting to two finals and actually not getting to play one, it still rankles, of course, but I'm hoping that I get that third time, and if it’s for Sacramento, it’ll be very special.

Q: How do you feel about your squad? Who are you enjoying working with within the squad right now?

NC: It’s one of the reasons that I was drawn to coming back. I found my time in the USL and the players have just such honest, fantastic work ethic across the board. So, as a group, that’s been amazing. I think the senior players that I have inherited, Roro [Lopez], Danny Vitiello, Russell Cicerone, Nick Ross, lads like that, the core group that have been there have just been phenomenal in terms of the attitude and their willingness to continue to try and grow. So, I have to give that group a special mention.

But also I’m also enjoying the fact that you’ve got the likes of the new additions like Lewis Jamieson, Freddy Kleemann, Ryan Spaulding, people like that who are hungry for success, hungry to really kick on their careers. So, that’s a big part. And then again, you’ve got the added thing of having their own academy, so someone like Blake Willey and Chibi [Ukaegbu], beyond this team winning, I want to try and help these lads develop and build their careers.

Q: Which of your contemporaries in the USL Championship coaching ranks do you admire?

NC: I’ve got huge respect for every coach I come up against, because you don’t get to this level as a Head Coach without being very good at what you do. I think two guys that come to mind immediately, though, that I've built good relationships with and have had some great games against, would be [Louisville City’s] Danny Cruz and [the Charleston Battery’s] Ben Pirmann.

I think the consistency both of those guys have shown – because I think that’s the key, being a coach is about that consistency. I think Danny took over a club that expected success, it's not easy to sustain that. I think he’s done that. And when he's maybe not had as successful season as maybe Louisville would have liked, he’s learned from it and came back stronger.

And then Ben, whether it’s been at Memphis or at Charleston, he’s just done an incredible job. The team always plays a very exciting brand of football. And on top of that, they’re both very good people, and we share quite a lot of conversations. So, if you talk about a lot of different coaches, I think that's one of the things that I learned even more going away, was just how high the level of coaching is in the USL.

Q: What does this season look like for Sacramento? What does success look like this year for Republic FC?

NC: We want to win trophies, Nicholas. I think that’s the thing that’s been missing. For all the real positives have happened over the years – and there have been many with the Open Cup runs and they won the regular season in the Western Conference trophies – but we want to add trophies. Can we do that this year? There’s always opportunities. I think for me, it’s about just trying to make this group better right now and taking it game by game. There’s a lot of potential.

I also know the things I had to go through at Tampa. It’s easy when you look back to think everything was always perfect, and it wasn’t, it was far from that. We had to really go through some tough times to come through it. So, hopefully we can get there even quicker. But I think my expectation not just this year, or over the years, is to try and bring some silverware. Outside of that, it’s just to continue to be competitive every day. I think if you do that, you'll be on the right track.