Georgia Tech's Brent Key addresses coaching carousel: 'Slice me open and see what colors I bleed'

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key is one of the most interesting names in the coaching carousel as the Yellow Jackets push for an appearance in the ACC Championship Game and, potentially, the College Football Playoff. Vacancies at Auburn and Penn State are among the spots where Key's name enters the conversation.

The 47-year-old Key's recent track record of success makes him an enticing option, but it doesn't seem as if he's interested in leaving what he's built at Georgia Tech. 

"It's flattering, but not for me. For this program," Key said during a Thursday media availability. "Since I came back here and since I was named the head coach here, outside of the time with my family, every waking second of my life is going towards building this program to get to the point that it is right now. So that in turn we can continue --  three years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now -- continue to elevate this place. To be in that conversation. Not to be in there for two or three weeks, but to be a consistent team. Not when you lose one game, people say, 'Oh, the storybook is over.' 

"Nah, it's just the beginning. I can go on and on. I can say yes, no, maybe. All that crap. Slice me open and see what colors I bleed."  

Key noted that he and his team "laugh" at discussion that makes its way to the football facility. Though Georgia Tech's postseason hopes took a major hit in a Week 10 loss to NC State that dropped the Yellow Jackets to 8-1 on the year, they still landed at No. 17 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. 

That puts them well within shouting distance of the 12-team playoff field. They are also tied, with Pittsburgh, for the second-best record (5-1) in ACC play. 

This is the first time that Georgia Tech won at least eight games in a full season under Key, though he has yet to post a losing record with the Yellow Jackets. He is 22-13 since the start of the 2023 campaign. 

Further complicating any other program's interest in Key is the fact that Key's Tech ties go deep. He played offensive line at Georgia Tech from 1997-2000 and got his coaching career started as a graduate assistant for the Yellow Jackets from 2001-02. He was also the associate head coach, offensive line coach and run-game coordinator for Georgia Tech from 2019-22. He became interim coach when Georgia Tech fired Geoff Collins midway through the 2022 season. After guiding Georgia Tech to a 4-4 record that included two ranked wins in eight games, succeeded Collins as Georgia Tech's full-time coach. 

Key agreed to a new deal with Georgia Tech in Dec. 2024 that extended his contract five years through 2029.