Brent Key’s Georgia Tech sets new standard entering 2026

The Jackets started 8-0. They peaked at No. 7 in the AP Poll, equaling their best ranking this millennium. Their dazzling quarterback, Haynes King, had some Heisman Trophy buzz. They had a favorable schedule ahead. The circumstances seemed aligned for a College Football Playoff appearance.

But Tech was upset at N.C. State and then narrowly avoided a loss to lowly Boston College. The bubbling concerns had merit: Tech followed with a home loss to Pittsburgh that spoiled its chance to make the ACC Championship game, where it would have played for a CFP berth. Then it lost to in-state rival Georgia for the eighth consecutive season.

Saturday, Tech couldn’t finish despite owning a 21-10 lead in the second half. The defeat was a microcosm of the past two months. A potentially historic campaign ended up fizzling out with four losses in the final five contests.

So no one would blame Tech enthusiasts for feeling less jolly about a 9-win campaign this holiday season. Nevertheless, it was a third consecutive winning season and a two-win improvement over the past two years.

But that wasn’t good enough. And that’s a primary example of how the expectations have changed around here.

The general view remains that the Jackets are trending upward as a program. One reason why: new perspective under Key. He’s uplifted the standard to the point that a 9-win season can be disappointing. Tech feels it left too much to be desired in its best season in a decade.

Now the question becomes whether Tech can sustain its newfound standard.

“You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse,” Key said. “We have work to do. We need to make sure we have the best roster we can possibly have. We need to put together the best staff we possibly can have.”

Key has a busy offseason ahead as he retools his program. Quarterback Haynes King, one of the most prolific figures in Tech history, has exhausted his eligibility. So has running back Jamal Haynes, receiver Malik Rutherford, and starting guards Joe Fusile and Keylan Rutledge.

Oh, and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner — the architect of Tech’s explosive unit for three years — is off to Florida, departing alongside several Tech assistants. It shouldn’t be a long stay in Gainesville for Faulkner, who feels close to landing his own head-coaching gig.

Attrition should be expected — that’s the nature of college athletics, particularly in the NIL era of seemingly infinite player and coach movement — but this is a challenge for Key. He’s losing the foundation of a 9-win team (that could have been even better than its record). His senior players, for the record, believe the team is set for sustainable success.

“The guys (who were here) have seen how we’ve come in every day and prepare ourselves and win games,” Rutherford said. “Coach Key, I know he’s going to coach them hard as hell next year.”

There’s still a chance Tech missed a window of alignment; there’s also a chance this marked the beginning of a rise.

The expectation should be the latter because of Key, who has an increasingly sterling reputation among his peers and players. He’s transformed Tech from a mess of a situation to an extremely competitive one. His next task — sustaining success and pushing it further — will be even tougher.

“He’s a man of his word,” senior cornerback Rodney Shelley said of Key. “He’ll do everything he says. He coaches with a lot of passion. He’s just that guy that when he walks in the room, everybody pays attention with anything he says. He’s just a very good alpha male for this program and I think he’s going to take it very far.”

Key was loosely connected to multiple openings in this coaching cycle — enough to get him a new contract with Tech — and that’s a testament to how he’s viewed in the industry. He’s considered a winner who revived a moribund program, built a hard-nosed, workmanlike culture and has the Jackets blossoming into annual ACC contention — we think.

The Tech alum needs to nail his offensive staff hires. He and his cabinet must properly identify the right individuals in the transfer portal, an additional-and-necessary task to utilize the tools of this newer landscape.

Player retention will be crucial — Tech has already lost King’s presumed heir, Aaron Philo, to the portal, where he’s likely following Faulkner to Florida. It’s more challenging to retain one’s tough-minded culture when players and coaches are cycling in and out.

Key addressed that topic unprompted when asked about his departing senior class following the game.

“Football is a continuous cycle,” he said. “We’re at the point now — and I talk about how momentum doesn’t carry over and teams are new — 30 or 40 guys come in every January new, but the identity and the culture of your team, that’s established early on. That was established by these seniors and these guys.

“When you have that set the right way, regardless of guys who come in your program, the guys who remain, those are the ones who carry it on. They carry it on because of how these guys built it and they know that’s what they’d want them to do.”

In a time college sports feels (and is) transactional, Key truly loves this place. His passion for Tech is evident and infectious, oozing throughout the program down to the players. Tech’s success is personal to him, just as Georgia’s success is personal to Kirby Smart.

Take Key at his word when he emphatically says he wants to stay here. As long as Tech provides the appropriate resources, Key will believe he can win in Atlanta.

But if there’s reason to eventually leave, consider the Faulkner scenario. It wasn’t about money. Faulkner preferred to coach at Florida, with their talent, in the SEC. Tech isn’t one of the big boys yet, and it’s liable to see its rosters and staff raided.

If Key hits a home run on his next OC hire, there’s a real chance that individual ends up poached soon enough, too. So Key’s identification of coaching talent, and Tech’s commitment to invest in its infrastructure, will remain paramount in retaining and attracting talent.

All that’s to say: The next year is critical to Tech’s ascension. It would be fair to expect some drop-off, but the best programs minimize the damage. Programs are likelier to fluctuate now more than ever, so understand for many, the highs could be higher but the lows could also be devastating (see Florida State).

If Key is the high-end coach he appears to be, he can further solidify his status by keeping his Jackets in ACC contention next season. If he does, it’s easy to see Tech continuing to improve its national reputation. It’s easy to see Tech becoming a premier ACC program, which would have fascinating ramifications with more conference realignment potentially looming in the early 2030s.

And most importantly, it’s easy to envision Key staying true to his word and remaining on The Flats, repaying the school that’s given him so much with an extended run of success that reshapes the history of Georgia Tech.

“The jump (to the next level) is better than this (season),” Key said. “It’s got to be. That isn’t always dictated by wins and losses. It’s dictated by the type of team you have, how you play the game, all those things. We’re all judged by wins and losses, but when you put everything together the right way, those become a byproduct of having everything in the right place and the kids and staff all believing the same things.”