Georgia Tech sits comfortably at #12 in the nation with an unbeaten (6-0) run. Brent Key has carried on their 2024 momentum into this season and has taken down Clemson along the way. But outside the program, the world of college football is in chaos right now. Over half a dozen teams have fired their head coaches, including royalty like Penn State. As these teams embark on a coaching carousel, naturally, names of head coaches from around the division make their lists. Brent Key has also been pursued, bu the Yellow Jackets faithful needn’t worry.

Georgia Tech’s AD Ryan Alpert has come out to dismiss any reports linking their head coach to other programs. “I’m absolutely confident we can keep Coach Key and continue to build a championship-level program,” Alpert said. 

While talking to the 680 The Fan radio channel, Alpert spoke about the change in their philosophy and their heavy investment in the athletic programs of the school. The AD sounded confident and wanted to build on this season’s success by converting the Jackets into a powerhouse. 

Brent Key signed a six-year extension with Georgia Tech in December 2023 that runs till the 2029 season. It amounts to an average annual value of $4.75 million and totals approximately $28.5 million in guaranteed compensation. His deal places him among the top three highest-paid coaches in the ACC.

In his pre-game presser before the Virginia Tech clash, he addressed the issue. “Look, if the player came to me and said. Hey, coach, I think you need to talk to the team about something like that.’ I would. I’m very transparent with this team. You try to keep things as black and white as possible. But I’m pretty sure everybody on that football team knows exactly where I stand.”

If this wasn’t enough, Brent Key told AJC that he’s happy at Tech. Silencing all the rumors, it seems Coach Key is focused on transforming the Jackets into a powerhouse program for now. He has fared 14-9 in ACC play over three seasons. His 14 wins during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns have him tied for the 3rd most in program history. Brent Key took the Jackets to back-to-back 7-6 seasons with consecutive bowl appearances, the first time since 2013-14 for Tech.

In doing so, Key exceeded preseason expectations by finishing fourth in the ACC despite 12th- and 10th-place media predictions in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This season is so far a step up, even to his standards. Meanwhile, he has found his way to the midseason watch list for the 2025 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award and Dodd Trophy. Key has surpassed the winning percentages of legendary predecessors Bobby Dodd and Paul Johnson in their eras.​

It will be interesting to see what happens over the course of the next 10 weeks. For now, Coach Brent Key isn’t going anywhere, so all the Jackets fans out there can breathe easy. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech treads the tricky waters of ACC football with its eyes firmly set on conference and national glory.

Georgia Tech’s final stretch

After extending their unbeaten run to six games, Georgia Tech hosts Duke at home. It’s a program with the conference’s tightest run defense (82.3 yards allowed per game, 4th nationally) and a pass rush that leads the ACC with 23 sacks. They also boast a decent offense, ranking 8th in the league in third-down conversion (48.2%). That is bound to force Tech into a physical and closely contested game.

Following the Duke clash, the Yellow Jackets will play Syracuse, NC State, Boston College, and Pittsburgh. They’d end the season like they do every year, with a rivalry weekend clash against the Georgia Bulldogs. Since the last game is a non-conference matchup, it won’t hamper their chances of making it to the conference championship game.

Currently, Georgia Tech sits atop the conference, with a 3-0 record. Three of their next five conference games are against teams that are in the bottom half of the ACC at the moment. But on their day, Syracuse can challenge any team they face. We already saw Pittsburgh take down Florida State in Week 7. So that game won’t be easy.