After producing the program’s best campaign since 2018 in his first full season as head coach, Brent Key leads the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets into 2024 with a sense of expectation surrounding the program. While there’s some continuity within the Georgia Tech coaching staff, several changes to Key’s backroom staff should help the team to compete in a new-look ACC this fall.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Brent Key
2024 will mark the second season that Key has been the head coach of the Yellow Jackets, but his blood buzzes with Georgia Tech history. A natural candidate to take over as interim head coach following the departure of Geoff Collins after four games of the 2022 season, his leadership and success as the offensive line coach since 2019 have carried over effortlessly into the lead role.
Not only has Key been an integral part of the Georgia Tech coaching staff since 2019, he got his initial start as a coach with the program in 2001 as a graduate assistant. That followed a successful playing career for the Yellow Jackets, where he was revered as a team captain and contributed towards explosive offenses while earning all-conference honors.
Outside of Georgia Tech, Key spent a season coaching in the FCS ranks with Western Carolina in 2004 before beginning a lengthy tenure at UCF in 2005. While in Orlando, he served multiple roles, working his way up from a graduate assistant to hold the title of assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator in 2014. He dropped the latter in 2015 but is still viewed as one of the sport’s top recruiters.
A testament to Key’s standing within the college football community, the Georgia Tech head coach holds a letter of recommendation from legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban. The pair worked together from 2016-2018 when Key’s offensive line units were finalists for the prestigious Joe Moore Award in successive seasons.
Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach, Buster Faulkner
Buster Faulkner joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff ahead of the 2023 season, delivering an instantaneous boost to the Yellow Jackets offense that helped power their success last fall. After spending three seasons in Athens helping develop the UGA QBs that delivered two national championships, it’s hardly surprising that his hire saw immediate returns for the program last fall.
Success has followed Faulkner almost everywhere he has stopped. His resume features 14 championships across his coaching and playing career, with a 2007 NCAA Division II title as the QB coach at Valdosta State (his alma mater) sitting alongside his accomplishments at Georgia as the crowning glory of his coaching career.
In addition to championship glory, Faulkner’s offenses have led multiple conferences, including the Conference USA (Southern Miss) and Sun Belt (Arkansas State). His full coaching resume can be found below:
- Valdosta State (student assistant, 2005; QB coach, 2007; OC/QB coach, 2008)
- Georgia (graduate assistant, 2006)
- Central Arkansas (QB coach, 2009)
- Murray State (OC/QB coach, 2010)
- Middle Tennessee (OC/QB coach, 2011-2015)
- Arkansas State (OC, 2016; OC/TE coach, 2017-2018)
- Southern Miss (OC/QB coach, 2019)
- Georgia (QB quality control, 2020-2022)
- Georgia Tech (OC/TE coach, 2023-present)
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach, Tyler Santucci
Tyler Santucci joins the Georgia Tech coaching staff for the 2024 season, making a cross-conference defection from the Duke Blue Devils. Under his stewardship a year ago, the ACC outfit led the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 19.0 points per game. As a result, he earned a nomination for the 2023 Broyles Award as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation.
However, last year wasn’t his first dalliance with dominant defensive units. While serving as the co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M in 2022, the Aggies boasted the top pass defense in college football while also fielding a top-25 scoring defense.
MORE: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Top 10 Returning Players
Santucci began his coaching career at his alma mater, Stony Brook. During his playing career, he tallied 284 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, and five interceptions, earning All-American and all-conference honors. At the same time, in his senior season, he was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year. You can find his full coaching resume below:
- Stony Brook (graduate assistant, 2010-2011; safeties coach, 2012; DL coach, 2013)
- Wake Forest (graduate assistant, 2014-2015)
- Texas State (LB coach, 2016)
- Notre Dame (defensive analyst, 2017)
- Texas A&M (defensive analyst, 2018)
- Wake Forest (LB coach, 2019)
- Texas A&M (LB coach, 2020-2021; co-DC/LB coach, 2022)
- Duke (DC/LB coach, 2023)
- Georgia Tech (DC/LB coach, 2024)
Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach, Ricky Brumfield
After joining the Georgia Tech coaching staff as the associate head coach for special teams last fall, Ricky Brumfield added cornerback coach responsibilities for the 2024 college football campaign. A seasoned coach who played WR at Utah State, Brumfield has held special teams coordinator roles at multiple college levels while spending time at several NFL programs.
Quarterbacks Coach, Chris Weinke
Who better to coach your quarterbacks than a former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion? Chris Weinke joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff in 2022 as QB coach, adding co-offensive coordinator duties last fall.
In addition to his playing success, Weinke has coached some of the top QBs in college football and the NFL, including Cam Newton and Jalen Hurts. He joined the Yello Jackets after four years in the SEC with Alabama (2017) and Tennessee (2018-2020).
Running Backs Coach, Norval McKenzie
A former college running back for Vanderbilt, Norval McKenzie began coaching the position at Furman in the 2011 season. After stints at Arkansas State and Louisville plus a two-year stint with his alma mater, he joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff in 2023 as running back coach with run game coordinator responsibilities. He’s engineered 1,000+ rushers the last two seasons.
Offensive Line Coach, Geep Wade
Geep Wade is an experienced and successful offensive line coach who has translated his playing career at Chattanooga into a coaching career spanning over 20 years. He joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff last fall, and his unit helped pave the way for one of the most dangerous ground games in the country.
Wade’s FBS experience includes stints at Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, East Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Marshall, and Tennessee.
Wide Receiver Coach, Trent McKnight
A new addition to the Georgia Tech coaching staff for the 2024 college football campaign, Trent McKnight brings extensive successive coaching wide receivers at multiple levels of college football while also boasting offensive coordinator experience from his time at Georgia State. He returns to the top level of the sport after opening his career as a recruiting intern at Alabama.
Defensive Line Coach, Jess Simpson
Another newcomer to the Georgia Tech coaching staff for the upcoming campaign, Jess Simpson is another Duke convert who spent the last two years cultivating a dominant defensive front with the Blue Devils. Simpson also has prior ACC experience after two stints with the Miami Hurricanes. However, he’s best known for compiling a ludicrous 164-12 record as a high school HC.
Defensive Backs Coach, Cory Peoples
One of the most well-traveled coaches you’ll find in college football, Cory Peoples played for the Georgia Military College and South Carolina before embarking on a professional career that had stops in Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and Toronto.
He joins the Georgia Tech coaching staff this fall after spending the last four seasons coaching defensive backs for Georgia State.
Outside Linebackers/Defensive Ends Coach, Kyle Pope
Arriving in Atlanta for the 2024 college football campaign, Kyle Pope reunites with head coach Key for the first time since the pair worked together at Alabama. Since they went their separate ways, Pope has been a foundational piece in building nasty Group of Five defenses, helping Liberty and Memphis to assert themselves at the forefront of that level of college football.
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