There is a reason coaches across the country spend careers trying to replicate what Nick Saban built at Alabama. Saban engineered a culture so methodical, so ruthlessly self-correcting, that even in retirement, his fingerprints are visible across college football’s most ambitious programs. And heading into 2026, Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key is leaning harder than ever on a lesson he absorbed from Saban.

This season, Key has brought in fresh energy to the coaching staff. The Yellow Jackets have new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Former Southern Miss coach Jason Semore will be their defensive coordinator, while Georgia Tech has tapped ex-Baltimore Ravens tight end coach George Godsey. During Josh Pate’s interview, Key explained what the new faces bring. 

“Continuity breeds complacency in every walk of life in an organization,” he said. “I thought we did an absolutely poor, poor job of developing freshmen last year from January through the season. Just because they know it in that room doesn’t mean that a freshman who walks in the door knows it.”

Georgia Tech wanted to go through the unusual route of building everything from scratch, since the old staff, according to Key, got too comfortable and stopped putting effort. In the process, the new players, the freshmen, suffered the most, being left behind. Key condemned the idea of assuming that freshmen walk in with the knowledge and are fit enough to gel with the rest of the roster that has three and four years of experience. 

And it did not take long for Georgia Tech to pay the price because of this comfort. Over the past three seasons, Key steered the Yellow Jackets to 23-game victories. The 2025 season came with a strong 8-0 start. But four out of five final games did not go their way. 

The Yellow Jackets’ 48-36 loss against North Carolina State might still be fresh in Key and his staff’s memory. Red-zone woes haunted Georgia Tech. Along with this, two third-quarter drives ended in field goals instead of six. And that fourth-and-goal at the 1? A costly false start vs. the NC State Wolfpack that flipped the script when they were already chasing.

That was the first time Georgia Tech tasted a loss last season. Freshman wide receiver Jordan Allen, for instance, came with five receptions. Even though the contribution felt satisfactory for a freshman, it failed to leave its mark when North Carolina State posted 583 total yards and scored on eight of 10 drives. 

So, Key tore everything down and recreated that “new coach buzz” without changing the head coach. In that way, he made use of the experience he gathered under Nick Saban back in Alabama, serving as the offensive line coach between 2016 and 2018. 

“Back in my time in Alabama, how every January, February, there was always this buzz of new life because we always started back at eight,” said Key.

The building now runs with the same January blueprint he witnessed under Saban, where every year starts at zero, with no shortcuts and no assumptions. Will this serve Yellow Jackets well?

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lock in more Alabama connections

Just as Georgia Tech is adopting the Alabama blueprint, it also got lucky to land the commitment from Alabama wide receiver transfer Jaylen Mbakwe. And he brings with him a fresh energy to the Georgia Tech squad, being more than an offensive weapon. 

“Of course, I feel like I can do both right now,” said the transfer in an interview. “Just focusing on one side of that ball right now, that’s corner, just honing in on the details, being myself, just getting back in the groove of things. And whatever happens happens. Anyway I can get on the field, I’m trying to get on the field and play. But most importantly, I’m trying to win.”

That’s exactly the confidence that might fire up the freshmen. After all, his stats are already there as proof, but it’s the mindset that makes all the changes. Back in 2024, he totaled 15 tackles, and in 2025, he recorded three catches for 55 yards and one rush for a four-yard gain. While we are yet to find out what role Key hands over to the transfer, he has made himself clear about the expectations for the 2026 season. 

“We’re excited to get back on the field and start working towards our goals for the 2026 season,” he said. “This is an important time for our team to continue improving and laying the foundation for what we want to accomplish.”

Georgia Tech locked him in with a fresh five-year bag in December. Now Brent Key is cashing $6.5 million a year, about a $2 million bump. So with that check, 2026 is about to be a pressure cooker for him.