SALINAS >> A coaching career that had spanned three-plus decades for Matt Collins — including the last 17 at Hartnell College, is being celebrated with community college football’s highest honor.

The former Panthers football coach is being enshrined into the 2026 California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) Hall of Fame.

“It’s an incredible fraternity of coaches and players to be a part of,” said a humbled Collins. “I was blown away that the voters circled my name. I’m still kind of in disbelief.”

Collins will join a list of names that includes Jackie Robinson, Keyshawn Johnson, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Walsh, Tom Flores, John Madden, O.J. Simpson, current Raiders coach Pete Carroll and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, to name a few.

“I never considered myself to be in the likes of that company,” Collins said. “I was surprised that I was even nominated. Maybe it’s me. I just felt there are people more worthy than me.”

Collins is the sixth Hartnell player/coach to be inducted, joining Marv Grim and Gary Shaw, who were chosen as coaches. Tony Teresa, Anthony Toney and Ed Brown are all in the CCCFCA Hall of Fame as players.

The list of players and coaches in the CCCFCA Hall of Fame dates back to 1937.

Collins ended his career No. 2 all-time at Hartnell in wins behind Grim, capturing 93 games in 16 seasons on the field — 2020 was canceled because of the pandemic.

“It’s well deserved,” Hartnell athletic director Danny Teresa said. “He came in when the program was struggling and turned it around and put us back on the map. Keep in mind he was the only full-time coach on the staff.”

After a rocky start and winless first year, the Panthers won four conference titles in Collins’ final 12 seasons — making seven bowl appearances, including his final season in 2023 with 29 players.

“I wondered what I got myself into after that first season,” Collins said. “But if I’m asking these players to overcome the adversities and challenges, not only with football, but in their lives, what kind of example am I if I just walked away from my own challenges.”

Having spent most of his life as a player and coach in Northern California, Collins never feared a barrier in his path. The backlash of being an outsider in the Hartnell community eventually disappeared.

“I thought about it later in life,” Collins said. “I would have regretted not finishing something I started. I stuck to the plan and we made adjustments along the way. As I look back, I couldn’t be happier with the decision of making my home here.”

At one point in Collins’ career at Hartnell, the program rattled off nine straight winning seasons, sending over 100 players off to four-year colleges.

“We had Bobby Patrino and Charlie Weis flying into the Salinas airport on their private planes to pick kids from our roster,” Collins said. “We got Hartnell College back on the map in recruiting.”

Weis was a coach at the time at the University of Notre Dame, while Patrino was at Arkansas.

The pandemic forced Collins to reshuffle game plans and recruiting philosophies. With rent rising in the county, bringing in out of state players became impractical.

“When you can’t bring in a group of players to supplement your local talent because of rent prices, it makes it tough,” Collins said. “Local kids were opting not to play or went to work after COVID.”

In Collins’ final three seasons after the pandemic, he never had a roster of more than 35 players, finishing his final season with 29.

“We had to prepare guys in the off-season to play both sides of the ball,” Collins said. “It only takes an injury or two with those numbers to deplete your roster. I felt we always stayed in front of it.”

Hartnell won its first six games in Collins’ final season in 2023, knocking off two reigning conference champions in the process before finishing 7-4.

“We always found ways to get our guys going,” said Collins, who had a hand in Hartnell’s new turf field on campus, which is maroon and gold.

Collins, whose coaching career began at Cardinal Newman High, embarked on a community college career as an assistant at American River, Mendocino, Sacramento City and Santa Rosa, where he played.

Having coached linebackers, defensive backs, special teams and receivers as an assistant gave Collins a perspective on both sides of the ball when he became a head coach.

“As a coach, you feel like you’re making a difference, helping young men become accountable,” Collins said, his voice rising with excitement. “I enjoyed the interaction with players and making a difference, seeing people learn from what you have to share.”

Joining Collins in the CCCFCA Hall of Fame in 2026 will include former Pacific Grove High and MPC quarterback Tom Craft, who coached at Palomar and Riverside Colleges in southern California.

Craft, who stepped down this past fall at Riverside, went 115-56 at Palomar in the late 1990s, winning three national junior college championships. He also had a stint as a head coach at San Diego State.

While Collins has received offers to join a handful of programs as an assistant, the time away has been beneficial in reshaping his life.

“I had some Division I opportunities,” Collins said. “I just don’t want to sit in an office watching film for eight to 10 hours. I don’t miss it right now. There are some unexplored things. It’s a reboot.”

Collins has not ruled out returning to coaching in some capacity down the road, although it’s not on his radar. The camaraderie with his coaches and building relationships with players has been difficult to replace.

“I’m not used to the down time,” Collins said. “I’ve done some traveling. I spent a month in Maui with teammates from the 1980s. I went to spring training for the first time. I’m trying to spend more time with my family.”

Other notable player/coaches to be inducted in the CCCFCA Hall of Fame include Monterey Peninsula College’s Nate Wright, Herm Edwards, Danny Holman and Chris Pappas.

In addition, former MPC football coach Mike Rassmussen is in the Hall of Fame as a player, having been a quarterback at Fresno City.