Key named 21st Head Coach of Georgia Tech Football

After successfully navigating the waters during an interim tenure, Georgia Tech alum and former offensive lineman Brent Key is expected s named the 21st head coach of the Yellow Jackets' football program, JOL sources confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.

The news was first reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN.

Key is the first Tech letterman since Bill Curry to become head coach on the Flats. He replaced Geoff Collins a quarter of the way into the season after two disappointing losses to Ole Miss and UCF. Key led the Jackets to two ranked road wins over Pitt and North Carolina as well as a road win at Virginia Tech and an overtime thriller over Duke to finish 4th in the ACC Coastal this season.

“I am very excited that Brent Key will be our next football coach,” School President Ángel Cabrera said. “As an alum, he understands and cares deeply about this place and our extraordinary student-athletes. He’s not only incredibly competitive but will do everything he can to make sure students grow as athletes, professionals and human beings. I also want to thank A.D. J Batt for his dedication to our program and all the time and care he’s invested in the past few weeks to evaluate our program, conduct a thorough national search, and make sure we found the right football head coach."

Batt offered his own statement after executing his search over the last few weeks and evaluating Key during his interim run.

“I’m honored to officially name Brent Key the 21st head coach in Georgia Tech football history,” Batt said in a statement. “Since I arrived on campus earlier this fall, I have observed first-hand Coach Key’s leadership, passion, energy and genuine care for our student-athletes, our football program and the Institute, as well as how his players and staff responded to his leadership and the genuine care that they have for him. There was strong interest from across the country to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech, and we conducted an exhaustive national search. At the beginning and end of the search, it was clear that the best choice for Georgia Tech is Brent Key. Please join me in congratulating Coach Key, his wife, Danielle, and his daughter, Harper.”

Key was overwhelmed by the opportunity given to him by the Tech leadership on Tuesday.

“I am so proud and grateful to be the head coach at my alma mater, Georgia Tech,” Key said. “I can’t thank President Cabrera, J and everyone that had a hand in the search enough for the faith that they have in me to lead our program. Like I’ve said many times over the past two months, I love this team, and I couldn’t be more excited to be their head coach. We will work unbelievably hard to make our fans, alumni and former players very proud of this program. Thank you to everyone who has supported our team over the past two months, and we thank you in advance for your continued support as we begin working towards next season. Go Jackets!”

“I watched very closely this season as Brent took over and saw things move in the right direction. It was clear that the team responded to the changes he made and played hard for him. Congratulations to Brent – I know he’ll do an outstanding job. President Cabrera and J made a great decision, and I look forward to watching the success Brent will have at Georgia Tech.”

- Former Georgia Tech and UCF head coach George O’Leary

“Brent did a great job for us at Alabama and was fantastic as the interim head coach for Georgia Tech this year. I know he is excited to lead his alma mater, and he will do an excellent job as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach. Brent is a very passionate coach who works tirelessly at his craft. His players love to play for him, and he does a great job of putting them in situations to be successful. Brent has a wonderful family, and we are so very happy for him to have this opportunity at Georgia Tech”

- Alabama head coach Nick Saban