Jess Simpson, a former Buford High School coach and Falcons defensive assistant, has joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff, a person with knowledge of the hire confirmed Saturday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Rivals.com first reported the news Friday.

Simpson, who spent the past two seasons at Duke as a defensive line coach, co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach, led Buford from 2005-16 where he won seven state championships. He then had two stints with the Falcons (2017 and 2019-20) sandwiched around a season as a defensive line coach at Miami, a place he returned to for the 2021 season.

A Marietta native and Auburn graduate, Simpson began his coaching career at his alma mater from 1992-93 before returning to Georgia to coach high school football from 1994-2016.

Simpson, whose role with the Yellow Jackets is yet to be determined, joins a defensive staff that underwent a myriad of changes over the past three months. On Oct. 1, Key moved defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker to safeties coach and placed linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer in Thacker’s original role. Thacker and cornerbacks coach Travares Tillman were then removed from their on-field roles at the end of the regular season and are both now special assistants to the head coach.

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Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key — pictured watching from the sideline during the Yellow Jackets' 16-9 loss to Georgia on Nov. 28 — signed a contract extension earlier this month that provided a $2 million increase in the salary pool for his assistant coach staff. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

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