Brent Key studies Nick Saban to prep Georgia Tech's upset bid vs. Georgia

ATLANTA – For sixteen seconds, his eyes brimming with tears, Brent Key faced the media at Sanford Stadium on November 29th and uttered a single phrase. 

“It’s tough.”

He could only muster that much following the intensity of an eight-overtime contest where Georgia Tech ended up on the losing side of a 44-42 decision against its rival, Georgia.

This past Saturday, he faced the media following Georgia Tech's 42-28 defeat to Pittsburgh, a loss that effectively ended their hopes for an ACC Championship Game spot. A tear mark was visible on his right cheek as he stated that a loss is a loss and his team wouldn't be able to reclaim that day. Once more, his emotions were clearly displayed.

No. 23 Georgia Tech (9-2), a key team, will have an opportunity to alleviate some of the disappointment from their loss to Pitt and seek retribution for last year's nail-biting contest against No. 4 Georgia (10-1) on Black Friday. The Yellow Jackets will face off against their rivals in the Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Every coach cares about every game. But there is no doubt this one means more to Key.

MORE: Rivalry Week primer, from Egg Bowl to Iron Bowl and more

Brent Key's coaching lineage traces back to George O’Leary and Nick Saban.

Toughness is a word that has been tied to the Georgia Tech program since Key took over first as interim coach and then full-time coach during the 2022 season. The Yellow Jackets have completed the years-long offensive overhaul needed to transition away from Paul Johnson’s triple-option offense, but still believe in a ground-heavy attack. Keys’ offensive lines, the position he played from 1998-2001 on the Flats, have been up to the challenge and play with a physical edge that mirrors their coach’s philosophy of how the game should be played.

In 2019, Key returned to Georgia Tech as the offensive line coach under Geoff Collins, having spent nearly his entire coaching tenure working for two mentors: his college coach George O’Leary and Alabama icon Nick Saban.

“The roots of their programs were rooted in the same concepts and beliefs,” Key told AllSportsPeople in his office overlooking Bobby Dodd Stadium. “Different coaches, but the same demanding personality style.”

Key worked for O’Leary at UCF from 2005-2015, gradually moving up the ranks from graduate assistant to eventually associate head coach/offensive coordinator. One of the most difficult aspects of the job was what were called ‘clinics’, where coaches would present their installs in front of the group before spring practice. The other coaches in the room would pepper the coaches with questions, not so much to question the philosophy but to reinforce the coach’s belief in what they were presenting.

During that period, George Godsey, who was Key's quarterback when he played, also served on the UCF staff and corroborated the requirements and advantages associated with that specific drill.

Godsey, who's spent 15 years as an NFL assistant coach and currently serves as the tight ends coach for The Baltimore Ravens, stated “That’s really the foundation of being a coach, to build a system of rules for your players that sustain every different look,”. “That process is really how you build anything that you're doing. Not everybody gets a chance to go through that grind.”

MORE: Picks against the spread for Week 14's Top 25 games

During his initial period at UCF with O'Leary as head coach, Key recalled a staff meeting where the coach inquired about a specific player's whereabouts. Key presumed the player was attending a class. O'Leary then pressed for details on which class and the player's academic standing. This was an oversight Key resolved not to repeat.

“I made a three-ring binder, and one of the sections was class schedules,” Key said. “So I had every player's class schedule in there, where they were at that time, every one of their grades in the class. You were expected to know.”

O’Leary gave Key more and more responsibility as the seasons passed and UCF built a solid program.

“I never want to be around the ‘yes’ guys,” O’Leary told SN. “They used to drive me nuts. Brent wasn't a ‘yes’ guy, but he's a very loyal guy. If he saw a problem that he thought we could (solve and) win more games, he'd come in and see me, and I respected that. And I think that's what led to the friendship.”

Key was considering pursuing some NFL jobs after leaving UCF, but had made an impression on Saban after an interview years earlier and wound up heading to Tuscaloosa.

During Key’s three years at Alabama from 2016-18, the Crimson Tide played in three national championship games, winning one. The Saban Machine was in peak form, and Key tried to soak up everything he could.

Following guidance from ex-Florida coach Billy Napier, who served on the Alabama staff in 2016, Key began documenting daily occurrences within the Alabama program. His notebooks are full of handwritten entries, and he shared some from the 2017 preseason with SN. These included observations from a practice featuring a promising true freshman running back, Najee Harris.

Key mentions he revisits those notes primarily to observe how Saban addressed player concerns and the psychology of managing the program, rather than just for daily practice strategies. According to Key, continuous player assessment and situational football were two core principles of Saban's approach, which he has maintained at Georgia Tech.

"There's a lot of secret sauce in Brent Key that people don't realize on the surface because they see the guy with the cutoff sleeves on the hoodie, the state trooper sunglasses and the hat" said Wes Durham, who was Georgia Tech’s radio announcer during Key’s playing days and a prominent voice with the ACC Network now. "He looks exactly like he did, as a player. He's an offensive lineman, and now he's the head coach. But here's the thing -- he's emotional, he has no filter. He might be raw to some people just with the way he does certain things. But that's what it takes at Georgia Tech."

MORE: CFP forecast | Bowl projections

Brent Key engages with his players

Key maintains a close relationship with his former high school coach, Jack Wood. Wood, who led Key's team at Hewitt-Trussville High School near Birmingham, Ala., during the mid-1990s, coached there for 19 years. He currently holds the position of President for The High School Football Coaches Association in Alabama.

Wood attended Key's initial press conference at Georgia Tech and has been referenced multiple times by Key as a significant influence throughout his football career.

“He, I mean, shoot, you know, brought me to tears more than once at his press conference,” Wood told SN. “Brent, you know, really didn't have a father in his life. Mother was a school teacher. Great lady. Our coaches had a little more influence with him than maybe others in that case. I'm just proud of the type of man he is and how he represents himself, his school and his family, no doubt.”

Key's connection with Wood established the groundwork for his player interactions. The Yellow Jackets endure rigorous coaching and demanding practices, yet Key's emotional engagement is evident. He identifies as a players' coach, but this designation applies only to specific types of players. Key asserts that they must embrace discipline, routine, and structure.

“You might fool your boosters and your administration, your assistant coaches, but you don't fool the players,” Wood said. “As long as they know you care about them, you can be as rough as you want, but you know you're not gonna fool them. He cares about them and they know that.”

King possesses an incredibly tight bond with his quarterback Haynes King, a player who's been a starter for three seasons at Georgia Tech and contributed to the program achieving its best national ranking since 2009. King embodies the rugged, physical quarterback style that Key aims to instill in his squad. Witnessing King's determination in leading Georgia Tech to a dramatic last-second victory over Clemson this season, enduring hits while repeatedly running the ball to position them for the winning field goal, left Key deeply moved post-game.

“It feels like an extension of me,” Key said after the 24-21 win. “I feel like I’m playing quarterback on the field.”

Brent Key will always consider Georgia Tech a significant part of his life.

While Georgia Tech was on its November bye week, Key was featured in a video that rapidly spread across college football's social media platforms. He was questioned on his approach to discussing with his team the speculation that he might be considered for the many vacant Power 4 coaching positions.

“Slice me open and see what colors I bleed,” he said.

Georgia Tech's head coach, Brent Key, offered a firm reaction this morning when questioned about speculation linking him to the vacant head coaching positions 🐝

“Slice me open and see what colors I bleed.” Pic.twitter.com/UkEx24AoAS

— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) November 6, 2025

Upon graduating from Georgia Tech, Key didn't envision himself becoming its head coach. After working as a graduate assistant, he explored commercial real estate, only to discover that wearing dress shoes and a tie daily wasn't his style (he'd rather wear a hoodie with cut-off sleeves). He was previously designated as the head coach-in-waiting at UCF, and subsequently contemplated a career in the NFL when his Orlando plans didn't materialize.

MORE: Would Lane Kiffin really leave Ole Miss before the CFP?

Following a three-year stint in Tuscaloosa, Key seized the opportunity to rejoin Georgia Tech in 2019 under new head coach Geoff Collins. During his four-year tenure as a starting guard, the Yellow Jackets compiled a 34-14 record, participated in four bowl games, and were ranked in the AP Top 25 each season. Notably, he concluded his collegiate career by winning his last three matchups against Georgia.

“That game means a lot to him,” Durham said. “When you win it, you know what it means to win. And he won it three times. It's a whole different deal.”

Godsey said Key’s experience at Georgia Tech is one of the most important aspects of being able to relate to today’s players.

“He knows exactly what they are going through day-to-day,” Godsey said. “He’s given so much to everybody who's been there as a teammate and as a player. We put a lot of time into that institution and for those colors. I think Brent wears that on his heart.”

Key discussed on Monday how the Georgia game holds greater significance for him, serving as a spotlight for Georgia's high school football talent given the number of Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets who remain in the state. Although last year's intense contest was decided on the final play, it concluded without any altercations, flag displays, or other unsavory postgame incidents between the victorious and defeated teams.

"The hardest players play is against people you know the best, because its like two brothers fighting," Key said. "You know they are going to go at it, but after the game, there's still going to be that respect for each other."

Key commands significant respect within and beyond the Georgia Tech program, following three consecutive bowl appearances. He's determined to maintain the strategies he's adopted from O'Leary and Saban, along with the diligent effort required to revitalize his team.

"He hasn't changed his stripes one bit since I've known him," said Godsey, who was hosted on his recruiting visit by Key over 25 years ago. "All you can ask for from a friend, from a coach, from a colleague, is consistency. When you see Brent Key, you get consistency every day, whether it's on the field or, or off the field. He's gonna give every minute of dedication to whatever the task is at hand."