Georgia Tech fans have been through the ringer the past couple of seasons. If you made a top ten list of the best wins of the Geoff Collins era you would only have ten wins to choose from. Yellow Jacket fans were on pins and needles waiting for the announcement of the next head coach. The administration made the best choice with Brent Key. Making majority of the fan base happy, players excited, and players parents relieved. Brent Key has already been making immediate changes within his new staff, and he is hitting the ground running. Let’s take a closer look on why Brent was the best choice.
Georgia Tech needed someone who loves Georgia Tech
You can say a lot about the Collins era, one thing I enjoyed was the branding effort he made. I thought he actually made a lot of great moves off the field but at the end of the day 10 wins in four years does a lot of damage. With the situation Georgia Tech is in they needed one of their own to take the reigns, someone that truly loves Georgia Tech. After the fanbase was let down by the Collins era, it needed someone they could love and buy into. I understand emotions don’t make great hires but this was a necessity for the fanbase. Relief was needed, it was needed by someone who has played at Georgia Tech. Someone who loves Tech and will do whatever it takes to bring them back to success. Jamey Chadwell, Bill O’Brien, Willie Fritz or anyone else would not have hit the same as the Key hire did.
Early Signing Period and Recruiting
In today’s age of college football, prolonging a head coaching hire could be deadly. In 20 days various recruits will already be signing their National Letter of Intent. Right now Georgia Tech has a core group of commitments, and keeping that core with a familiar face holds it together. Let’s not forget the transfer portal opens December 5th.
Brent Key’s Pedigree
For the portion of the fanbase that thought Georgia Tech may have settled, need to understand that Brent Key would have became a Head Coach somewhere anyways. I can guarantee you that “somewhere else” would have been a Power 5 Job eventually. If you look at his body of work he has experienced just about everything. From the buildup and struggles at UCF, and the elite level of success at Alabama. The fact they he won four out of eight games this season is remarkable. This guy is a winner, and the fanbase needs to realize it was easily the best choice.
What to expect in the near Future
With retaining Key you can expect him to retain majority of the recruiting class for 2023, and pick up some more. The big thing is if he can utilize the portal to flip the roster. The next is expect some solid hires at the assistant positions he just let go. Just yesterday OC Chip Long, Strength Coach Lewis Caralla and WR coach Del Alexander. Georgia Tech is now in true rebuilding mode now but expectations should be a bowl game next season.
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