Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key answers questions from the media during ACC Media days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

CFB Head Coach Rankings: CBS Sports Ranks Brent Key Among ACC's Best Coaches Heading Into the Season

Originally posted on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 1:46 PM ET

Ever since taking over as the head coach of his alma mater, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key has done a pretty remarkable job of turning the program around. After taking over for Geoff Collins, who never won more than three games in a season, Key has made bowl games in back-to-back seasons, including winning the Gasparilla Bowl at the end of the 2023 season. He has made a reputation for having his team ready to play in the biggest games, evidenced by upset wins over ranked teams such as Miami, North Carolina (2X), Florida State, and others, not to mention taking rival Georgia to eight overtimes last season in a game that the Yellow Jackets had multiple chances to win.

So where does Key fit in among the other ACC coaches? In an article today from CBS Sports analyst Chip Patterson, he ranked Key 6th overall in the ACC, behind Dabo Swinney, Jeff Brohm, Mario Cristobal, Rhett Lashlee, and Mike Norvell:

National rank: No. 30

"The overall record (18-16) doesn't tell the story. To really appriciate Key's time at Georgia Tech, you have to take into account the big moments he has provided for fans since he took over in the middle of the 2022 season. Key has six wins against teams ranked in the top 25 and pushed Georgia to the brink in an eight-overtime thriller last year. The Yellow Jackets are 14-9 against ACC opponents under Key and the combination of conference success with those high-end wins has him moving up 24 spots nationally and seven spots among his ACC peers. Last year: No. 13 in ACC "

How could Key make another climb in the rankings? If Georgia Tech has the kind of season that some are projecting, he could find himself even higher on this list.

After being named the head coach following the 2022 season, Key went to work in trying to build a winning team and program. He landed Haynes King in the transfer portal and hired Buster Faulkner away from Georgia to be the offensive coordinator. The Yellow Jackets would pull off more ranked wins in 2023, beating Miami on a miraculous last-second play and beating North Carolina for a second consecutive season. He led his team to a win over Syracuse in November which clinched the Yellow Jackets' first bowl bid since 2018. Key got the Yellow Jackets within eight points of No. 1 Georgia, the first time that single digits had decided game since the Yellow Jackets last victory in the series in 2016. Georgia Tech would end the 2023 season with a win in the Gasparilla Bowl over UCF, giving them a winning season and their first bowl win since 2016.

This season has a chance to be Key's best as well. The Yellow Jackets are getting a lot of buzz as a potential dark horse contender in the ACC, which could men a potential run at the playoff. The Yellow Jackets are bringing back veteran players on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Haynes King, they have a good recruiting class and transfer class, and the schedule is very favorable for the first time in years. They have to earn it and find more consistency (Key's biggest weakness so far), but the chance is there for Georgia Tech to contend in the ACC in 2025.