Kyle Pope

Kyle Pope, who has helped his teams earn seven-straight bowl berths, comes to Georgia Tech as outside linebackers/rush coach.

Pope spent the past four seasons (2020-23) as defensive line coach at Memphis, which included being elevated to defensive run game coordinator in his final season with the Tigers. In his four seasons at Memphis, the Tigers earned four bowl berths and won all three of their postseason games that were played (2020 Montgomery Bowl, 2022 First Responder Bowl and 2023 Liberty Bowl – the 2021 Hawai’i Bowl was canceled due to Covid-19).

In 2023, Pope helped lead the Tigers to an impressive 10-3 campaign, capped by a Liberty Bowl victory over Iowa State. He coached second-team all-American Athletic Conference defensive lineman Jaylon Allen and helped direct a unit ranked among the top 25 nationally in third- and fourth-down conversion defense.

His coaching experience also includes a season as inside linebackers coach at Liberty (2019), two seasons coaching defensive line as a graduate assistant at Alabama (2017-18 – including national championship season in ’17), and one-season stints as defensive line coach at Holmes (Miss.) Community College (2015) and Presbyterian (2016).

Pope played linebacker at Jacksonville State (2010-14), where he helped lead the Gamecocks to two Ohio Valley Conference championships and back-to-back NCAA Division I FCS playoff appearances (2013 quarterfinals, 2014 second round).

FULL BIOGRAPHY

Kyle Pope, who has helped his teams earn seven-straight bowl berths, comes to Georgia Tech as outside linebackers/rush coach.

Pope spent the past four seasons (2020-23) as defensive line coach at Memphis, which included being elevated to defensive run game coordinator in his final season with the Tigers. In his four seasons at Memphis, the Tigers earned four bowl berths and won all three of their postseason games that were played (2020 Montgomery Bowl, 2022 First Responder Bowl and 2023 Liberty Bowl – the 2021 Hawai’i Bowl was canceled due to Covid-19).

In 2023, Pope helped lead the Tigers to an impressive 10-3 campaign, capped by a Liberty Bowl victory over Iowa State. He coached second-team all-American Athletic Conference defensive lineman Jaylon Allen and helped direct a unit ranked among the top 25 nationally in third- and fourth-down conversion defense.

In addition to helping Memphis go undefeated in bowl games, Pope coached a total of four defensive linemen that earned all-AAC recognition, highlighted by Allen, who was an honorable mention in 2022 before earning second-team honors in ’23, and O’Bryan Goodson, who was a first-team selection in 2020.

Prior to his four-year stint at Memphis, Pope was the linebackers coach at Liberty in 2019, helping the Flames go 8-5 and win the Cure Bowl in their first full-fledged season at the NCAA Division I FBS level. In its 23-16 Cure Bowl win, Liberty limited Georgia Southern, which entered the game in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense, to just 154 yards on the ground, more than 100 yards below the Eagles’ season average.

Pope was a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2017 and 2018, where he was on the same staff as Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key. In his two seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide went 27-2, made back-to-back College Football Playoff championship game appearances and won the 2017 national title. With the Crimson Tide, he coached nine defensive linemen that have gone on to play in the National Football League, including Pro Bowlers Daron Payne and Quinnen Williams.

He began his coaching career with one-season stints coaching the defensive line at Holmes (Miss.) Community College (2015) and Presbyterian (2016). He coached a first-team all-state honoree (Josiah Coatney) at Holmes C.C. and a pair of second-team all-Big South selections (Khari Rosier and Obinna Ntiasagwe) at Presbyterian. He also had a training camp coaching internship with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023, working with the Chargers’ outside linebackers, a group that included six-time All-Pro Khalil Mack and four-time Pro Bowler Joey Bosa.

Pope played linebacker at Jacksonville State (2010-14), where he helped lead the Gamecocks to two Ohio Valley Conference championships and back-to-back NCAA Division I FCS playoff appearances (2013 quarterfinals, 2014 second round).

He holds degrees from Jacksonville State (B.S. – 2015) and Alabama (M.S. – 2019).