Brent Key, a Georgia Tech alumnus and football letterwinner, is in his third full season as the head coach at his alma mater. He took over as the program’s 21st head coach on a permanent basis in 2023, after stepping into the role as interim head coach during the 2022 campaign.
In Key’s three seasons as permanent head coach (2023-25):
- The Yellow Jackets have won 23 games, which are tied for the second-most wins ever by a Georgia Tech head coach in his first three full seasons at the helm. The only other head coaches that have won as many as 23 games in their first three full seasons at Tech – Paul Johnson (27 – 2009-11), Bobby Dodd (23 – 1945-47) and William Alexander (23 – 1920-22) – are all enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
- The Jackets have earned fourth- (2023), fourth- (2024) and second-place (2025) finishes in the ACC, making Tech the only team that has finished fourth or better in the ACC each of the last three seasons.
- Tech is a gaudy 7-1 mark nationally ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
In 2025:
- Georgia Tech’s nine-win regular season was its first since 2014 and only the 16th in the program’s 133-season history.
- The 9-3 regular-season record included an 8-0 start, Tech’s best since 1966.
- The Jackets were ranked as high as No. 7 in the national polls, their highest regular-season ranking since 2009.
- Quarterback Haynes King was the ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year (Georgia Tech’s first since 2008) and finished 10th in balloting for the Heisman Trophy (Tech’s first top-10 Heisman vote-getter 2006).
- In addition to King being recognized as one of college football’s top players, two Jackets earned all-America recognition in 2025 — offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge and place kicker Aidan Birr — which marked the first time since 2009 that Tech had multiple all-Americans in a season.
- Rutledge became only the 12th first-round NFL Draft pick in Georgia Tech history when the Houston Texans selected him with the 26th overall pick in the 2026 Draft.
Prior to being named interim head coach on Sept. 26, 2022, Key served as Georgia Tech’s assistant head coach/offensive line coach/run game coordinator for three-plus seasons. In four total seasons at his alma mater prior to taking over as head coach on permanent basis, Tech’s run game produced an all-American, three all-Atlantic Coast Conference honorees and finished in the top half of the ACC in rushing offense twice. He also mentored a pair of all-ACC offensive linemen.
Key returned to Georgia Tech in 2019 after three seasons as offensive line coach at Alabama (2016-18), where he helped lead the Crimson Tide to two Southeastern Conference championships, three College Football Playoff championship games and the 2017 national title. His coaching resume also includes a successful 11-year stint at UCF, where he helped lead the Knights to four conference championships and eight bowl appearances, one season as an assistant coach at Western Carolina and a season-plus as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech. In addition to his reputation as a top-notch coach, he is also widely regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters.
Key was a four-year starter at guard for the Yellow Jackets from 1997-2000. He was a team captain and all-ACC performer as a senior and graduated from Tech in 2001 with a management degree. He and his wife, Danielle, have a daughter, Harper.
| THE BRENT KEY FILE |
| PERSONAL |
| Hometown | Clay, Ala. |
| Family | Wife: Danielle;
Child: Harper |
| Alma Mater | Georgia Tech, 2001 |
| PLAYING EXPERIENCE |
| 1996-2001 | Georgia Tech | Offensive Line |
| COACHING EXPERIENCE |
| 2001-02 | Georgia Tech | Graduate Assistant |
| 2004 | Western Carolina | Tight Ends/Running Backs |
| 2005 | UCF | Graduate Assistant |
| 2006 | UCF | Tight Ends |
| 2007 | UCF | Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 2008 | UCF | Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator |
| 2009 | UCF | Offensive Line |
| 2010-11 | UCF | Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 2012-13 | UCF | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 2014 | UCF | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator |
| 2015 | UCF | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs |
| 2016-18 | Alabama | Offensive Line |
| 2019-22 | Georgia Tech | Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line |
| 2022 | Georgia Tech | Interim Head Coach |
| 2023- | Georgia Tech | Head Coach |
| HEAD COACHING RECORD |
| Year | Overall | ACC (Finish) | Postseason |
| 2022 (interim) | 4-4 | 4-3 | |
| 2023 | 7-6 | 5-3 (t-4th) | Gasparilla Bowl (W, 30-16, vs. UFC) |
| 2024 | 7-6 | 5-3 (t-4th) | Birmingham Bowl (L, 35-27, vs. Vanderbilt) |
| 2025 | 9-4 | 6-2 (t-2nd) | Pop-Tarts Bowl (L, 25-21, vs. No. 12 BYU) |
| Total | 27-20 | 20-11 | |
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Brent Key, a Georgia Tech alumnus and football letterwinner, is in his third full season as the head coach at his alma mater. He took over as the program’s 21st head coach on a permanent basis in 2023, after stepping into the role as interim head coach during the 2022 campaign.
After winning just 10 of its previous 38 games, Georgia Tech has won 27-of-47 games since Key took the reins as interim head coach five games into the 2022 season. His 27-20 mark includes a gaudy 7-1 mark against nationally ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
In Key’s three seasons as permanent head coach (2023-25):
- The Yellow Jackets have won 23 games, which are tied for the second-most wins ever by a Georgia Tech head coach in his first three full seasons at the helm. The only other head coaches that have won as many as 23 games in their first three full seasons at Tech – Paul Johnson (27 – 2009-11), Bobby Dodd (23 – 1945-47) and William Alexander (23 – 1920-22) – are all enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
- The Jackets have earned fourth- (2023), fourth- (2024) and second-place (2025) finishes in the ACC, making Tech the only team that has finished fourth or better in the ACC each of the last three seasons.
- Off the field, the Yellow Jackets have also excelled in the classroom under Key’s watch. For the first time in its history, Tech football has recorded four-straight semesters with a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher – 3.02 in spring 2024, 3.00 in fall 2024 (the program’s first-ever fall semester with a 3.0 GPA), 3.03 in spring 2025 and an ultra-impressive, program-record 3.17 in fall 2025.
Coinciding with their record-setting semester in the classroom, the Yellow Jackets have also had a historic season on the field in 2025. Most notably, Georgia Tech’s nine-win regular season in 2025 was its first since 2014 and only the 16th in the program’s 133-season history. The 9-4 campaign included an 8-0 start, Tech’s best since 1966, and the Jackets rising to as high as No. 7 in the national polls, their highest regular-season ranking since 2009.
Led by quarterback Haynes King, the ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year who finished 10th in balloting for the Heisman Trophy, Georgia Tech fielded one of the nation’s most explosive offenses in 2025. The Yellow Jackets were one of only three teams — and one of only two from a power conference — that ranked among the top 30 nationally in all five major offensive categories during the 2025 regular season — total offense, scoring, rushing, passing and passing efficiency.
In addition to King being recognized as one of college football’s top players, two Jackets earned all-America recognition in 2025 — offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge and place kicker Aidan Birr — which marked the first time since 2009 that Tech had multiple all-Americans in a season. Rutledge, who earned first-team all-America honors in both 2024 and ’25, became the first Yellow Jacket to be named all-America in consecutive years since 2011-12 and the first to be a first-team selection in back-to-back years since College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson in 2005 and 2006.
In all, headlined by four first-team selections, its most since 2009 (King, Rutledge, Birr and defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg), Georgia Tech had nine all-ACC performers in 2025.
Additionally, two Yellow Jackets were selected in the 2026 National Football League Draft — Rutledge (first round – Houston Texans) and defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg (sixth round – Chicago Bears). Rutledge became the only the 12th first-round draft pick in Georgia Tech history and the Jackets’ first since 2010. True to Key’s identity, Georgia Tech’s last five NFL Draft picks all play in the trenches (Rutledge and van den Berg in 2026, TE Jackson Hawes and DT Zeek Biggers in 2025 and DE Keion White in 2023).
The 2024 campaign was highlighted by a pair of wins over top-10 opponents – a 24-21 victory over No. 10 Florida State in the season opener in Dublin, Ireland and a 28-23 home triumph over previously unbeaten and No. 4-ranked Miami (Fla.) in November – as Tech became only the ninth team in ACC history to defeat two top-10 teams in the same regular season. The Yellow Jackets’ 7-5 regular-season record was their best since 2018.
A year after fielding one of the nation’s most improved offenses, the Jackets had one of college football’s most improved defensive units in 2024. Tech’s defense surrendered 342.8 total yards and 122.2 rushing yards per game in ’24, improvements of 94.3 and 99.1 yards per game over 2023. At the same time, despite a plethora of injuries — including one that cost King two full games and parts of three others — Tech continued to boast one of the nation’s top offenses. The Jackets finished in the top 35 nationally in total offense (424.5 yards per game) and also ranked among the nation’s leaders in fewest sacks allowed (third), fewest turnovers (11th), completion percentage (24th), rushing offense (32nd) and red-zone offense (32nd). On special teams, Tech ranked third nationally with five blocked kicks and, as a team, the Jackets were one of the nation’s 25 least-penalized teams.
Ten Yellow Jackets were named all-ACC in 2024, Tech’s most all-conference selections since 2014.
In 2023, Key led Tech to its first winning season since 2018, capped by a 30-17 win over UCF in the 2023 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Fla., which was the Yellow Jackets’ first postseason victory since 2016. The Jackets’ 7-6 mark in 2023 included wins over No. 17 Miami (Fla.) and No. 17 North Carolina.
The Yellow Jackets’ success in 2023 was highlighted by one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. Befitting Key’s background as an all-ACC offensive lineman and one of college football’s most successful offensive line coaches, the Jackets led the ACC and ranked among the top 15 nationally in rushing offense (203.8 ypg – 12th nationally) and sacks allowed (1.15 pg – 15th) in ’23.
However, the offense wasn’t the only area where the Jackets reflected their head coach’s identity in ’23, as they also ranked among the ACC and national leaders in blocked kicks (four – good for first in the ACC and a tie for third nationally), turnovers forced (25 – second in the ACC and ninth nationally) and fewest penalties (5.15 pg – third in the ACC).
Seven different Yellow Jackets earned all-ACC recognition in 2023, highlighted by all-America safety Jaylon King. Additionally, three freshmen – Birr, OL Ethan Mackenny and WR Eric Singleton Jr. – earned freshman all-America honors, putting a spotlight on the Jackets’ bright future under Key.
Key took the reins of the program on a full-time basis after leading the Yellow Jackets to a 4-4 record over the final eight games of the 2022 season as interim head coach. The four wins included two road victories over nationally ranked opponents – a 26-21 win at No. 24 Pitt in his first game at the helm on Oct. 1 and a 21-17 triumph at No. 11 North Carolina on Nov. 19. The Jackets overcame a plethora of injuries – including to its top two quarterbacks – to finish 5-7 overall and 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play after a 1-3 (0-1 ACC) start. The overall and conference win totals were Tech’s highest since 2018, as was its fourth-place finish in the ACC Coastal Division standings (the Jackets defeated all three teams that finished ahead of them in the division standings – North Carolina, Pitt and Duke).
A 2001 Georgia Tech graduate (management), Key is the fifth Tech alumnus to serve as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach, joining William Alexander (1912 graduate; head coach from 1920-44), Bill Fulcher (1956; 1972-73), Pepper Rodgers (1955; 1974-79) and Bill Curry (1965; 1980-86). Key played offensive line for the Jackets from 1997-2000.
Prior to being named interim head coach on Sept. 26, 2022, Key served as the Yellow Jackets’ assistant head coach/offensive line coach/run game coordinator for three-plus seasons. In four total seasons at his alma mater prior to taking over as head coach on permanent basis, Georgia Tech’s run game produced an all-American, three all-conference honorees and finished in the top half of the ACC in rushing offense twice. He also mentored a pair of all-ACC offensive linemen.
Despite battling a rash of injuries across the offensive front throughout the season, 2021 marked the second-straight season that Tech’s rushing offense ranked in the top half of the ACC under Key’s watch, with tackle Devin Cochran earning honorable-mention all-ACC recognition before going on to sign with the National Football League’s Cincinnati Bengals.
In 2020, the Jackets ranked fourth in the ACC in fewest sacks allowed (2.3 per game) and fifth in the league in rushing (190.8 yards per game), all with a true freshman (Jordan Williams) starting 9-of-10 games at right tackle.
Despite a multitude of injuries, the Jackets’ offensive line improved throughout the 2019 season, as it went through the monumental transition from an option-based scheme to a pro-style, spread attack. During a one late-season three-game stretch, Tech faced teams that ranked first (Pitt), fourth (Miami) and eighth (Virginia) nationally in sacks. Tech’s offensive front allowed just five total sacks in those three games, including none against eventual ACC Coastal Division champion Virginia. In all, the Jackets didn’t surrender a sack in two of its final four contests.
Key came back to his alma mater after three seasons as offensive line coach at Alabama (2016-18), where he helped lead the Crimson Tide to two Southeastern Conference championships, three College Football Playoff championship games and the 2017 national title.
In each of his three seasons at Alabama, Key’s offensive lines were finalists for the Joe Moore Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top offensive front, and was the only group in the nation to receive the honor all three seasons. He also coached four All-Americans (including two unanimous picks – tackle Cam Robinson in 2016 and tackle Jonah Williams in 2018) and nine all-SEC selections (including seven first-teamers) during his time with the Tide. In addition to being unanimous All-Americans, Robinson won the 2016 Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman and Williams was a finalist for the award in ’18. They also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy (SEC’s top offensive lineman) in ‘16 and ‘18, respectively.
Seven linemen that Key coached in his three seasons at Alabama went on to be selected in the National Football League Draft — Jedrick Wills (No. 10 overall, Cleveland Browns, 2020), Williams (No. 11 overall, Cincinnati Bengals, 2019), Alex Leatherwood (No. 17 overall, Las Vegas Raiders, 2021), Robinson (No. 34 overall, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2017), Ross Pierschbacher (fifth round, Washington Redskins, 2019), Bradley Bozeman (sixth round, Baltimore Ravens, 2018) and Deonte Brown (sixth round, Carolina Panthers, 2021).
Key was also lauded for his work on the recruiting trail at Alabama. He was tabbed as the nation’s No. 2 recruiter by 247Sports for his work in landing the Crimson Tide’s 2019 class and the No. 1 recruiter in the nation for his efforts with the 2020 class.
Prior to his three-year stint at Alabama, Key spent 11 seasons at UCF (2005-15). He started at UCF as a graduate assistant and worked his way up to assistant head coach (2012-15) and offensive coordinator (2014-15). He also coached tight ends for three seasons (2006-08), offensive line for six seasons (2009-14), running backs for one season (2015), was special teams coordinator for one season (2008) and recruiting coordinator for six seasons (2007, 2010-14) with the Knights. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Key was nominated for the Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football.
During Key’s 11 seasons at UCF, the Knights won four conference championships (2007, 2010, 2013 and 2014), highlighted by a 12-1 campaign in 2013, which culminated with a 52-42 win over No. 5 Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. The Knights beat two top-10 teams in ’13 (Baylor and No. 8 Louisville) and Key’s offensive front, which did not allow a sack against Penn State, Louisville, UConn or Baylor, helped pave the way for UCF to average 441.5 yards and 34.6 points per game, both among the highest marks in program history. His offensive line also provided protection for American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Blake Bortles.
In his six seasons as UCF’s offensive line coach, eight different linemen earned all-conference recognition a total of 16 times and four went on to play in the NFL, including 2011 third-round draft pick Jah Reid. He also coached an NFL draft pick at tight end in Mike Merritt (2008).
During his time at UCF, Key coached under his head coach as a student-athlete at Georgia Tech, George O’Leary.
Key got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech in 2001-02 and served as tight ends and running backs coach at Western Carolina in 2004.
Key was a four-year starter in his four seasons as a student-athlete at Georgia Tech (1997-2000). While making 44-straight starts at right guard, Key was a part of a senior class that led Georgia Tech to four-straight bowl appearances for the first time since 1953-56. As a sophomore in 1998, he helped lead Tech to a 10-2 record and a share of the ACC championship. During his junior campaign in 1999, the Jackets ranked No. 1 nationally in total offense (509.0 ypg). He was voted a team captain and all-ACC as a senior in 2000. In all, he was a key cog in an offensive front that helped the Yellow Jackets lead the ACC in rushing three times.
A Clay, Ala. native, Key, 47, was an all-state performer at Hewitt-Trussville H.S. He and his wife, Danielle, have a daughter, Harper.
