Brent Key says it’s time for Georgia Tech to ‘shut up and get better’
Brent Key is over platitudes.
The Georgia Tech football coach is readying his team to play Duke on Saturday after a bye week and 1-3 start.
With eight games still to play, Key is demanding change.
“You can talk about motivate and lift up and this or that or you can shut up and get better,” Key told reporters Tuesday. “The external influences in the world that everyone’s around all the time, they’re the ones that make things rosy or dark and grim. Step through the doors of the building, that will tell you where we’re at with everything.”
After the deflating loss at Stanford on Sept. 26, Key said he would be mad if he were a fan. He said things needed to be adjusted, corrected, changed and fixed.
His program was “near rebuilding,” he said, and he encouraged players to meet with their position coaches and state their cases for more playing time.
The contrast with a year ago is stark.
Key guided his alma mater to an 8-0 start and Top 10 ranking last season. Since then? The Jackets are 2-7 in their past nine games and have slipped from national relevance.
Key signed an extension in December and entered this season optimistic in his comments about a team capable of building on last year’s breakthrough.
A month into this season, Duke (4-0, 1-0) offers Key a chance to see if his message is reaching his players.
“There’s a way you carry yourself as a Georgia Tech football player, and that will not change,” he said. “That will not change. I owe that to this place, this place that has given me so much in my life. And everybody else that’s worn the white and gold, that’s what I owe them. Having stand-up young men who are disciplined, tough and play the game the right way and are accountable to each other.”
Injuries have played a role in Tech’s slow start, particularly in the secondary and on the offensive line. Key declined to give details about individual players, pointing to Wednesday’s official availability report when asked.
“I don’t think we’ll have to play with 10 guys on the field, but we have incurred some injuries at those positions, as well as some others,” he said. “That’s part of football. We’ve got to have the next guys ready to play, but also then call and scheme and put plays around them that those guys can be able to execute.”
Will Key’s demand for accountability produce something different on the field?
The Jackets rank 123rd nationally in rushing defense and 109th in rushing offense, a significant departure from the physical, run-oriented identity Key had established.
Growing pains with new coordinators on both offense and defense were expected. Key said he still has confidence in both George Godsey and Jason Semore, but there will be changes Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium to where his staff is positioned, whether on the field or in the box.
Key, however, did not reveal the specifics.
“We’ve made a lot of adjustments there that give us the best chance to see the game, call the game and execute the game plan,” he said. “We’ll see on Saturday.”