Official: Brent Key is Georgia Tech Football's Head Coach

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I respect everyone’s opinion but have one of my own.
Brent Keys credentials aren’t shabby . He was in line to take George’s place at UCF before that went south. Sabin grabs him. While at Alabama he was recognized as the #1 recruiter in the country, his line won the Joe Moore award as the best line in the country and was part of national championships.
For anyone to think that Batt made a poor choice with this guy, it’s hard to imagine.
I hope people noticed the drastic improvement in the offensive line over the last 8 weeks. By the way, we started 2 freshmen and 3 sophomores against UGA.
1. This is an excellent financial hire.
2. It is a very good football decision.
3. This could turn into a great hire.

Plus I understand we’ve got some good commitments.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

No one said it's crazy, just that it's not as black and white as you seem to be painting it. And it doesn't really apply to Key anyways, he's been successful through 8 games as GTs HC.

The original poster said one could not be reasonably confident any other coach would be better. That is to what I am responding.

What is black and white? Suggesting one could be reasonably confident that a coach that has been successful at multiple programs would be a better hire than a coach with no record of success? It seems like you are arguing against something I am not saying.

And, No, 4-4 is not success. Maybe compared to Collins, but not anywhere else.

 

[FredJacket]

I would hope that McCollum would reconsider now that Key has been selected but there may be more factors than just a head coach change. His decision may not even be related to football. These kids have a life outside being a football player. I do hope he decides to stay.

Folks were connecting the assumption Key wasn't going to be named as coach to McCollum's transfer decision. Logically... that hardly makes sense now. Key was the choice AND the portal doesn't even open until Monday.

Kids enter portal for a myriad of reasons. There is no way to know what they are thinking (from here). Kids also change their minds regarding transferring. I'd love for him to suit up for the Jackets next year too.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I think, in the grand scheme, we might have gotten lucky to get Brent Key as our coach. Seven years ago he was one of the hottest up-and-coming coach names out there. UCF had him under contract as the named coach in waiting. UAB tried to hire him away. Key was a major part of the UCF staff that built UCF into a G5 powerhouse, a 12-1 Fiesta bowl winner in 2013.

In 2015, the wheels completely fell off at UCF for a lot of reasons. O'Leary was rumored to be retiring after the 2014 season. Key would've become HC. Instead, O'Leary decided to stay. But he also took on the role of AD. Some assistants did retire/leave and GOL shuffled his staff. Key was made OC. The offense was decimated by injuries, GOL was distracted, the team never gelled, rumors were that GOL got involved in the offensive play calling... Caveats aside, Key's offense was absolutely awful and he owns that. It was a major setback to his career. UCF cleaned house after the season.

Scott Frost inherited the foundation Key and GOL had laid at UCF and went undefeated and claimed "National Champions" in just two years. (Frost's results at Nebraska support the idea that he benefitted hugely from what he inherited at UCF.) I believe there's a scenario where GOL does retire after 2014. Key becomes HC of UCF in 2015, instead of OC. 2015 is still a rough transition year but not as horrific. Then it's Key, not Frost, who leads UCF to great things over the next few years. Key is the hottest G5 coach name and gets offered big time factory jobs. Tech never has a chance to bring him home.

Even after the UCF disaster, Key was hired by Saban to join possibly the single greatest staff in college football history at Bama in 2016. He was recognized as the #2 and #1 recruiter in the nation in consecutive years. He probably could've stayed on staff at Bama, winning awards, until his reputation was rehabbed enough to get a good HC job. Because, that's what Saban assistants do.

Instead, he took the call to come home to Ma Tech to join you-know-who's staff. We all know what happened here. But Key still had other schools trying to hire him away as an assistant. (Key has a fantastic reputation within the 'coaching fraternity'.) We weren't favored in a single remaining game when he took over. He gutted a team that had every reason to quit to a .500 record over the final 8 games. They competed against some tough opponents and never quit. I believe that the wins over Pitt and UNC were real indications of what he can accomplish. UVA is an example of what can happen when everything goes wrong. But

Except for 2015 and being part of C**** abject disaster here, Key has been an award winning successful highly regarding ball coach throughout his career. He's gotten some unlucky breaks. Perhaps, made some poor decisions. But failure is a part of growth. Saban and O'Leary, among the greatest coaches at recruiting and managing assistants, valued Key highly. His players love him. Brent is a dadgum ball coach. He has the aptitude to be one of the greats. He has the desire to make Tech great. I believe in Brent Key.

Good post. Glad you posted that.

 

[SuperToe]

Its a DIY project.

Section 103 will have them. They're sold out right now, but they tweeted last night that they would have more soon.

Georgia Tech Lightweight Short-Sleeve Coach Hoodie

Product Details 75% Polyester, 13% Cotton, 12% Rayon Tagless Designed and screen printed in the US Our short sleeve hoodies have a looser fit than our t-shirts, so unless you prefer a looser fit, we recommend sizing down if you're on the fence. See size chart. About This Design Coach Key is here...

www.section103.com

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

And, No, 4-4 is not success. Maybe compared to Collins, but not anywhere else.

We will just have to disagree there. Interim coach inherits a mess, beats two ranked teams, one with his 3rd and 4th string QBs.

I get you're not a fan of the hire, but calling what Key did unsuccessful is silly. He's been universally praised for how he turned this team around. The only people who seem to think differently are some of our "fans."

 

[UgaBlows]

Some of y'all are making a way bigger deal out of this than it is. His tweet about Fritz didn't even say its definitely Fritz, and he retracted it. It doesn't matter at all anymore.

Ok......Scoop will NEver live that down among Tech fans

 

[slugboy]

Why can't I buy short-sleeve hoodies on the website?

Its a DIY project.

They aren’t cut off. You have to blow the bottom of your sleeves off when you flex your guns.

And, No, 4-4 is not success. Maybe compared to Collins, but not anywhere else.

O’Leary won no games as interim HC. You don’t see massive successful mid season changes in football teams; you see incremental improvement.

I don’t want to extrapolate “4-4 as interim->ACC champ next year”, but it was a heckuva turnaround for the team. The FSU, UVA, and Miami games were bad, though.

There are examples where an interim did really well, but less well as a HC (hello, Ed Orgeron?). Key has an offseason to get the offense going in the right direction and fix the punt unit. It’s not even special teams—it’s just the punt unit.

The offense has many of the parts, but it’s a major build. That’s going to define his coaching success.

 

[Vespidae]

And, No, 4-4 is not success. Maybe compared to Collins, but not anywhere else.

I asked my Auburn players if they judge their performance on wins and losses. The answer was a resounding "no".

Players have no direct control over the outcome (e.g., injuries, weather, Covid, etc.). What they DO have control over is the quality of their assignment. That is what they are judged on. And if a greater percentage of players are performing their assignments correctly, they should translate into a win.

I would argue that despite the 4-4 record, the players are playing football BETTER than they were and if they continue on that trajectory, should produce a nice result in 2023.

Given what Key took over, setting a goal of winning out seems unrealistic.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

We will just have to disagree there. Interim coach inherits a mess, beats two ranked teams, one with his 3rd and 4th string QBs.

I get you're not a fan of the hire, but calling what Key did unsuccessful is silly. He's been universally praised for how he turned this team around. The only people who seem to think differently are some of our "fans."

So, just because I was slightly more confident that other coaches would be better than Key, now I am not only not a fan of the hire but also not true fan. Listen to yourself and how that sounds. Who is being black and white?

As for his record as interim coach, he beat two teams to whom we should have lost and lost to two teams we should have beat. We barely won against Duke and VPISU. Got blown out by FSU but we're competitive for a half against ugag. I agree that he was much better than Collins, but some of you are acting like it is greatest coaching turnaround in the history of college football.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

I asked my Auburn players if they judge their performance on wins and losses. The answer was a resounding "no".

Players have no direct control over the outcome (e.g., injuries, weather, Covid, etc.). What they DO have control over is the quality of their assignment. That is what they are judged on. And if a greater percentage of players are performing their assignments correctly, they should translate into a win.

I would argue that despite the 4-4 record, the players are playing football BETTER than they were and if they continue on that trajectory, should produce a nice result in 2023.

Given what Key took over, setting a goal of winning out seems unrealistic.

Nice straw man. Where did I say anything about winning out.

 

[UgaBlows]

Now about the importance of a coach being a "Tech Guy", I don't care that he's a Tech Guy or not. In fact I think that should not even be part of the consideration. I don't if a coach usded to coach at uGa, Auburn, Alabama, USC, Oregon, Ohis St. etc. I only care that they can coach/recruit/hire a good staff/manage the clock/lead the team in a way that translates to WINS on the field.

you know for most anywhere else I would agree with you but as we all know Tech is a very unique HFc job and Key well knows the challenges here and exactly what he has signed up for from his time here as a student, player and assistant, that means a lot. Doesn’t always work out obviously (Pepper, Curry, Geoff) but maybe Tech will finally get some luck and we have found our version of Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern, an alum who loves his school, job, team 100%, works his guts out to win and has no desire to be anywhere else.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Great article from Shultz at the Athletic. It's paywalled, so you have to have a subscription, but an Athletic subscription is worth it.

https://theathletic.com/3951009/2022/11/29/brent-key-georgia-tech-coach/?source=user_shared_article

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

So, just because I was slightly more confident that other coaches would be better than Key, now I am not only not a fan of the hire but also not true fan. Listen to yourself and how that sounds. Who is being black and white?

As for his record as interim coach, he beat two teams to whom we should have lost and lost to two teams we should have beat. We barely won against Duke and VPISU. Got blown out by FSU but we're competitive for a half against ugag. I agree that he was much better than Collins, but some of you are acting like it is greatest coaching turnaround in the history of college football.

Take it how you want to. Only fans of GT are complaining about Key. The rest of the sports world seems to think we made a good decision.

and speaking of straw men: "...but some of you are acting like it is greatest coaching turnaround in the history of college football."

Personally, I think you just like to argue about everything.

 

[Randy Carson]

The original poster said one could not be reasonably confident any other coach would be better. That is to what I am responding.

What is black and white? Suggesting one could be reasonably confident that a coach that has been successful at multiple programs would be a better hire than a coach with no record of success? It seems like you are arguing against something I am not saying.

And, No, 4-4 is not success. Maybe compared to Collins, but not anywhere else.

All things considered, I think we had a VERY successful outcome. We got rid of the the problem and righted the ship.

It's Band of Brothers when Speirs takes command of the attack.

As a Marine (and I wasn't), I'm sure you can identify with the analogy and appreciate how the men must feel today and how they will respond to competent leadership.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Take it how you want to. Only fans of GT are complaining about Key. The rest of the sports world seems to think we made a good decision.

and speaking of straw men: "...but some of you are acting like it is greatest coaching turnaround in the history of college football."

Personally, I think you just like to argue about everything.

Who is complaining? I am countering an argument that one font said that no one could be reasonably confident that that any coach would be better. Yes, one could be reasonably confident other coaches would be better. We did not hire them. We hired Key. He is our coach and I support him unconditionally even if I was slightly less confident in the hire.

By the way, saying you are acting like... is not the same as saying you said...

Personally, I think you believe any comment that is not 100% supportive of Key is somehow an absolutely negative criticism.

 

[wvGT11]

The original poster said one could not be reasonably confident any other coach would be better. That is to what I am responding.

What is black and white? Suggesting one could be reasonably confident that a coach that has been successful at multiple programs would be a better hire than a coach with no record of success? It seems like you are arguing against something I am not saying.

And, No, 4-4 is not success. Maybe compared to Collins, but not anywhere else.

Valid points, but I also think folks are being too harsh on critiquing key.
He has a valid resume from UCF and Alabama, and sure he isn't proven as a HC . But again I think your neglecting the fact that he himself had serious handicaps as an interim here, the very same handicaps that any other coach on the rumored list would face.
I think you really need to look past the 4-4 record and look more at how the team responded under him .
Also remember and I'll keep bringing this up, Dabo at Clemson came on as an Assistant and took over as interim to HC.

 

[Bleedwhiteandgold]

So, just because I was slightly more confident that other coaches would be better than Key, now I am not only not a fan of the hire but also not true fan. Listen to yourself and how that sounds. Who is being black and white?

As for his record as interim coach, he beat two teams to whom we should have lost and lost to two teams we should have beat. We barely won against Duke and VPISU. Got blown out by FSU but we're competitive for a half against ugag. I agree that he was much better than Collins, but some of you are acting like it is greatest coaching turnaround in the history of college football.

It's clear to me that no matter what position posters present to you, you just want to push your narrative and trying to poke holes in everyones view. How does this help having a constructive conversation about posters support of Brent vs who you would have hired.

News flash buddy, no one knows how anyone would have turned out, and I haven't seen a single post from you on a list of coaches that would have been better than BK and why. For me, this is the only post i will reply to directly to you because you dont hold conversations, just constant attacks. Its a bare to listen to, and why there is an "ignore" feature.

Right now as the head football coach, Brent Key's record is 0-0, and if someone else had been hired their record would be the same. I know this, we're not going to have attrition to the level we would have saw with Willie or any other coach besides maybe Deion. The kids fight hard for CBK and we saw that in many games during his time as the IHC. CBK also beat two Top 25 teams, let me ask you what was Collins record against Top 25 teams (1-10), Brent is (2-1) with the one loss being UGA, no one is dinging him for that.

The fact is Brent took over a team that was under performing and made us a football team that opponents really had to prepare for, and gave us our highest win percentage since Johnson, thats REAL progress. I can't wait to see what else he can do with a full year as the head man. The sky is the limit. Please stop being so rash, and brighten up! Theres A LOT to look forward to.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Valid points, but I also think folks are being too harsh on critiquing key.
He has a valid resume from UCF and Alabama, and sure he isn't proven as a HC . But again I think your neglecting the fact that he himself had serious handicaps as an interim here, the very same handicaps that any other coach on the rumored list would face.
I think you really need to look past the 4-4 record and look more at how the team responded under him .
Also remember and I'll keep bringing this up, Dabo at Clemson came on as an Assistant and took over as interim to HC.

Which is why I am actually supportive of the hire, but I am also not going to lie and say I am as equally confident as I was for other potential hires.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Valid points, but I also think folks are being too harsh on critiquing key.
He has a valid resume from UCF and Alabama, and sure he isn't proven as a HC . But again I think your neglecting the fact that he himself had serious handicaps as an interim here, the very same handicaps that any other coach on the rumored list would face.
I think you really need to look past the 4-4 record and look more at how the team responded under him .
Also remember and I'll keep bringing this up, Dabo at Clemson came on as an Assistant and took over as interim to HC.

Key's mentor, and former coach, GOL never had HC experience at ANY college level and took over as interim HC in 1994, went 0-3, was hired as HC, and was fairly successful as a football coach.