There’s little reason to believe Georgia Tech’s Key will get staff hires right

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key says he messed up by hiring defensive coordinator Jason Semore and two other first-year assistants last offseason.

After Key fired them and another assistant on Monday, he will have to hire their replacements under worse circumstances than he faced then.

Key got his DC hire wrong after Tech competed for the ACC title in 2025. Key also erred with an important position for the style he wants to play: offensive line coach.

Why should anyone believe Key will make better hires now, when his program is in worse shape than it’s ever been in his four-plus years as coach? What if the real problem isn’t the assistants Key hired, but Key himself?

Key said Tuesday that, ultimately, his team’s issues are his fault because he hired the coaches he ended up firing in less than a year. He said he’s learned from mistakes that he’s made during the vetting process.

“You have your sheet, your bullet points, and that’s been totally redone, changed,” Key said. “Questions added that need to be talked through that maybe weren’t talked through as in depth (as needed). At the end of the day, it’s what shows up on film.

“And that’s where I’m frustrated is that some things that showed up on film prior and previously at other places weren’t able to come to fruition here on film.”

The Yellow Jackets are 2-7 with three consecutive noncompetitive games. Now, a big chunk of the coaching staff is gone in early November.

Semore is out with Tech’s defense ranking statistically worse than some Group of Four teams. Key also dismissed Allen Mogridge (offensive line), Kyle Pope (defensive ends) and Jafar Williams (wide receivers).

Tech’s offense is better than its defense, but that’s a low bar to clear. Why does offensive coordinator George Godsey still have his job when his group’s production has been trending down?

“That’s the question that I would ask, too,” Key said. “When you evaluate people, you evaluate on statistics because that’s black and white. You evaluate on what you see and what you’re around every day because that now is that goat. And the third part is what might not be known yet.

“Offense and defense are very different in terms of calling the game. … As I said to start, everyone is consistently evaluated and a lot of decisions are made on who is capable of coming in to fill that role.”

Tech’s shuffled staff includes defensive backs coach Vinnie Sunseri calling the plays and assistant offensive line coach Brandon Torrey taking over for Mogridge. Key said he told the staff members he didn’t fire that they “shouldn’t be comfortable that you are going to remain here” after the season.

When Key pursues outside candidates, he will have a much harder sell than last time. The image of Tech’s program now is failure and disorder, not success and stability.

In January, the Jackets had just finished a 9-4 season in which they competed for the ACC title. Key was hailed as the coach who made them consistent winners again after the regrettable Geoff Collins years.

Now the Jackets must pull off three major upset victories to avoid finishing 2-10. Key’s team was so bad in its past three games that he said he reached a “breaking point” and made in-season coaching changes after saying that’s a bad idea.

Tech’s defense has been more of a long-term problem than the offense.

The next defensive coordinator will be the fifth in Key’s fifth full season as coach (not counting an interim DC after Key demoted Andrew Thacker in October 2023). Only one previous coordinator left on their own.

During those years, Tech’s defense hasn’t been consistently good and often has been bad. Poor defense contributed to late-season collapses in 2024 and 2025. It’s mainly responsible for the team’s struggles throughout this season.

Maybe a better coordinator is what’s needed. But Key has burned through so many DCs in a short time that candidates may wonder how long they’ll keep it. They also must consider whether Key will keep his job if Tech has another losing season in 2027.

Those factors make Tech’s DC position unattractive. Qualified candidates will be interested because supply is limited and demand is high. There are only so many jobs in football that are as good as defensive coordinator at a Power Four program.

But top candidates may not be willing to come and work for Key in such an unstable situation. Even if they are willing, it’s not clear that Key would identify them as the best person for the job.

Before this season, Key said “big-time football” is back at Tech. I wondered if he could sustain it. There were good reasons to believe he could, even with superlative quarterback Haynes King gone.

Lots of productive players were returning. Key had done well with recruiting and the transfer portal, especially along the defensive line. Student support for the program surged despite the disappointing end to last season.