GTAA board approves agreement through 2030 for Georgia Tech football’s head coach
Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Wake Forest, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech Athletic Association Board of Trustees approved a new five-year contract for football head coach Brent Key on Wednesday. The new contract adds a year beyond Key’s previous agreement, extending him through 2030.
“Coach Key has brought our storied football program back to where it belongs,” Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera said. “He has delivered three-straight winning seasons and bowl appearances, reinvigorated the passion of our fan base, and given us moments we will not easily forget. The Yellow Jacket pride and energy he brings — fueled by his deep love for Georgia Tech — inspire our entire community. I am delighted that athletics director Ryan Alpert is continuing to elevate Georgia Tech athletics, securing resources and investing further in Coach Key and our football program, and I am excited about the bright future ahead of us.”
Key has led his alma mater to a 27-19 record in three-plus seasons at the helm, which includes eight games as interim head coach in 2022 before being named Georgia Tech’s permanent head coach prior to the 2023 season. His 27-19 mark includes a gaudy 7-1 mark against nationally ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, and the 27 victories in 46 games comes on the heels of Tech winning just 10-of-38 games prior to him taking the reins in 2022.
In Key’s three seasons as permanent head coach:
- The Yellow Jackets have won 23 games, which are tied for the second-most wins ever by a Georgia Tech head coach in his first three full seasons at the helm. The only other head coaches that have won as many as 23 games in their first three full seasons at Tech – Paul Johnson (27 – 2009-11), Bobby Dodd (23 – 1945-47) and William Alexander (23 – 1920-22) – are all enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
- Tech has earned fourth- (2023), fourth- (2024) and second-place (2025) finishes in the ACC, making the Yellow Jackets the only team that has finished fourth or better in the ACC each of the last three seasons. The Jackets have exceeded expectations each season, as they were picked to finish 12th, 10th and fourth in each respective season’s preseason conference poll.
Georgia Tech is in the midst of a historic campaign under Key in 2025, as the Jackets posted a 9-3 record in the regular season (6-2 ACC). The nine-win regular season is Tech’s first since 2014 and only the 16th in the program’s 133-season history.
After being nationally ranked for a total of just one week from 2016-24, the Jackets have been in the top 25 for 12-consecutive weeks this season, reaching as high as No. 7 following an 8-0 start. The Yellow Jackets have also been in each of the first five College Football Playoff rankings of the season for the first time in the CFP’s 12-year history.
Individually, four Yellow Jackets – QB Haynes King, OG Keylan Rutledge, DT Jordan van den Berg and PK Aidan Birr – are all-ACC honorees this season, which is Tech’s most first-team selections since 2009. King, who is No. 3 nationally in total offense, is a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation’s top upperclassman quarterback) and a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, while Birr, who set a Georgia Tech single-season record and leads the nation with 25 made field goals, is one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award (college football’s top place kicker).
Off the field, the Yellow Jackets have also excelled in the classroom under Key’s watch. For the first time in its history, Tech football has recorded three-straight semesters with a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher – 3.02 in spring 2024, 3.00 in fall 2024 (the program’s first-ever fall semester with a 3.0 GPA) and a program-record 3.03 in spring 2025.
“We’re excited to announce that Brent Key will remain right here where he belongs – on The Flats,” Alpert said. “It became apparent to me very quickly after my arrival at Georgia Tech this past summer that Coach Key is the right person to lead our football program, not only because of the great success that his team has achieved on the field, but because of the culture of leadership, togetherness and toughness that he’s built in the locker room and throughout the program. I’m grateful for the relationship that we have and I’m looking forward to continuing to work together to build a program that will consistently compete for championships at the highest levels of college football.”
The new agreement represents Georgia Tech’s continued investment in championship-level football. In addition to locking in Key, Tech remains committed to expanding its investments in retaining and expanding its football staff, providing maximum revenue sharing to student-athletes and helping identify innovative third-party name, image and likeness opportunities.
Tech will also continue to invest in technology-driven facilities, equipment and analytics, highlighted by the opening of the state-of-the-art Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center in the spring.
“I’m grateful to President Cabrera, Ryan Alpert, (executive deputy A.D.) Brent Jones and the GTAA Board of Trustees for their continued belief and investment in Georgia Tech football,” Key said. “There is no other place or opportunity out there like Georgia Tech.
“Our goal is to build a championship program. I’m proud of the steps that we’ve taken towards reaching that goal, but I’m not satisfied. Building a championship program is not possible without everyone being aligned. To our fans and students – everything that you do for our program matters and is appreciated. You’ve made Bobby Dodd Stadium one of the biggest homefield advantages in all of college football. We need everyone to be all in to get where we want to go. Together, we’ll achieve great things. Go Jackets!”
Key is the 21st head coach in Georgia Tech football history and the fifth Tech alumnus to lead the program. He was a four-year starter at right guard for the Yellow Jackets from 1997-2000 (44-consecutive starts) and part of a senior class that led Tech to four-straight bowl appearances for the first time since 1953-56. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech (2001-02) before stints at Western Carolina (2004), UCF (2005-15) and Alabama (2016-18). He returned to The Flats in 2019 as Tech’s assistant head coach and offensive line coach.
Georgia Tech, which has earned three-straight bowl berths for the first time since 2012-14, will learn its postseason destination when bowl selections are announced on Sunday.
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