The 2022 season saw the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets make a change early on in the season as Geoff Collins was relieved of his duties as head coach. Brent Key was named interim head coach before eventually getting the interim tag removed after a 4-4 run to end the year.
Now entering his first full season as head coach, Key and his coaching staff are hoping for success in the ACC in 2023.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Brent Key
A former Georgia Tech right guard in the late 90s, Brent Key has been the head coach for the Yellow Jackets football program since the middle of the 2022 season. After a 1-3 start, Key helped lead Georgia Tech to a 5-7 record to end the season, coming one game short of a bowl game appearance.
The quick turnaround throughout the season helped Key land the head coaching job permanently.
Key has held multiple positions with the Yellow Jackets since 2019 including assistant head coach, offensive line coach, and run game coordinator. His first coaching job was at Georgia Tech back in 2001 and 2002 as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff.
Before Georgia Tech, Key coached the offensive line at Alabama from 2016 until 2018 as he served as a key recruiter on the staff. During that time, the Crimson Tide were in the College Football Playoffs all three seasons — including a national title win in 2017.
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His longest run as a coach at one program was at UCF where he coached multiple positions from 2005 through 2015. Key ranked as high as offensive coordinator for the UCF staff in his last two seasons at the school.
The only other stop Key had in his coaching career was in 2004 as he coached tight ends and running backs at Western Carolina.
Offensive Coordinator/TE Coach, Buster Faulkner
Buster Faulkner takes over as offensive coordinator in his first season at Georgia Tech. Faulkner was close by at rival Georgia where he won two national championships with the Bulldogs as their quality control coach for quarterbacks. He was a part of the offensive staff that ranked in the top five in scoring and total offense in 2022.
Faulkner has an 18-year coaching career that has seen him as an offensive coordinator for five different programs during that span. His stop at Southern Miss in 2019 saw the offense rank in the top 20 in passing offense. At Arkansas State, his offenses ranked in the top 20 in each of his last two seasons there. He has been able to win three national titles and six conference titles since the start of his coaching career in 2005.
- Valdosta State (Student Assistant, 2005)
- Georgia (Graduate Assistant, 2006)
- Valdosta State (QB Coach in 2007 and Offensive Coordinator in 2008)
- Central Arkansas (QB Coach, 2009)
- Murray State (Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, 2010)
- Middle Tennessee (Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, 2011-2015)
- Arkansas State (Offensive Coordinator/TE Coach, 2016-2018)
- Southern Miss (Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, 2019)
- Georgia (Quality Control – QB, 2020-2022)
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach, Chris Weinke
Chris Weinke is in season two with Georgia Tech after being the quarterback coach in 2022. Weinke was promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the 2023 season after dealing with four different starting quarterbacks who only threw nine interceptions in 12 games.
He was previously coaching quarterbacks and running backs at Tennessee for three seasons. Weinke was, at one point, under Nick Saban at Alabama in 2017 as an offensive analyst. He did have a two-year stop in the NFL coaching quarterbacks for the Rams. His stop coaching stop was at IMG Academy where he was head coach for two seasons going 19-2 in those years.
- IMG Academy (Director of Football, 2010-2012)
- IMG Academy (Director of Football/Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator, 2013-2014)
- St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (QB Coach, 2015-2016)
- Alabama (Offensive Analyst, 2017)
- Tennessee (RB Coach in 2018 and QB Coach in 2019-2020)
- Georgia Tech (QB Coach, 2022)
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach, Kevin Sherrer
This is Year 1 for Kevin Sherrer at Georgia Tech as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Sherrer’s previous stop was in the NFL with the New York Giants coaching their linebackers for two years. In 2018 and 2019, he was at Tennessee as a defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, and inside linebackers coach.
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Sherrer saw success with Georgia, coaching two linebackers (Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith) to the NFL as first-round picks in the NFL Draft. He also had five players who were named to All-SEC teams during his four years with the Bulldogs.
Alabama and South Alabama were his other stops in college as his coaching career began in high school. He coached at three different high schools in Alabama with his most prominent one being at Hoover High School where he was defensive coordinator from 2007 through 2009.
- Tuscaloosa County HS (Defensive Assistant, 1996-1997)
- Alabama (Graduate Assistant, 1998-2000)
- Spain Park HS (Defensive Backs Coach, 2001-2004)
- Hoover HS (Defensive Assistant in 2005-2006 and Defensive Coordinator in 2007-2009)
- Alabama (Director of Player Development, 2010-2012)
- South Alabama (Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach, 2013)
- Georgia (Outside Linebackers Coach, 2014-2017)
- Tennessee (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach in 2018 and Special Teams Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach in 2019)
- New York Giants (Linebackers Coach in 2020-2021)
Special Teams Coordinator, Ricky Brumfield
Another new coach on the staff, Ricky Brumfield takes over as special teams coordinator for Georgia Tech. Brumfield has held special teams coordinator jobs at seven different colleges dating back to 2001.
His recent accomplishments include making Florida International rank in the top 25 in special teams efficiency in 2022. He had four seasons at Virginia making the Cavaliers one of the best schools in the country in kickoffs setting school records in 2019 in kickoff return average and total kickoff return yards.
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Brumfield also has NFL experience as a coach as he has been part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. His stops in the NFL include the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, and the Tennessee Titans. He spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant for the Steelers from 2007 through 2009.
- Union College (Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach, 2001-2003)
- Fairmont State (Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach, 2004-2010)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship in 2006 and Volunteer Assistant Coach in 2007-2009)
- Atlanta Falcons (NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, 2007)
- Green Bay Packers (NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, 2008)
- Buffalo Bills (NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, 2010)
- Nicholls State (Special Teams Coordinator/Safeties Coach, 2011-2012)
- Western Kentucky (Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach, 2013-2015)
- Texas-San Antonio (Special Teams Coordinator/TE Coach, 2016-2017)
- Virginia (Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach in 2020 and Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach in 2021)
- Tennessee Titans (NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, 2021)
- Florida International (Special Teams Coordinator/Associate Head Coach/Outside Linebackers Coach in 2022)
Running Back Coach/Run Game Coordinator, Norval McKenzie
Norval McKenzie joins the Georgia Tech coaching staff after spending the last two seasons at Vanderbilt. McKenzie helped Vanderbilt become one of the top rushing attacks in the SEC last season ranking fourth in the conference in rushing yards. He also had stops at Louisville, Arkansas State, and Furman coaching running backs and special teams.
Defensive Line Coach, Marco Coleman
Marco Coleman reunites with the Yellow Jackets after spending the 2022 season with Michigan State coaching their defensive line. From 2019 until 2021, Coleman was at Georgia Tech coaching their outside linebackers and defensive ends. He spent two seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders. Coleman was also a defensive coordinator at the high school level with Mandarin High School in Florida in 2017.
Wide Receivers Coach, Josh Crawford
Josh Crawford is in his first year coaching the wide receivers coming from Western Kentucky’s coaching staff. Crawford spent two seasons with the Hilltoppers coaching receivers and was co-offensive coordinator in 2022. His previous stops were at the high school level from 2010 until 2020.
Safeties Coach, Andrew Thacker
Andrew Thacker is one of the more experienced Georgia Tech coaches entering his fifth season with the school. Thacker spent the previous four seasons as defensive coordinator for the Yellow Jackets including 12 players being named to All-ACC honors. He was previously defensive coordinator for Temple in 2018 with a coaching history that includes stops at UCF, Atlanta Falcons, Southern Miss, Oklahoma State, and Kennesaw State.
Defensive Backs Coach, Travares Tillman
Travares Tillman is back with Georgia Tech in his second season with the school after coaching their defensive backs and as defensive pass game coordinator in 2022. In 2020 and 2021, Tillman was on the Michigan State Spartans coaching staff coaching their cornerbacks. He has also coached at Colorado, Georgia, Philadelphia Eagles, and Calvary Day School in Georgia.
Offensive Line Coach, Geep Wade
Geep Wade is in his first season at Georgia Tech and he is tasked with coaching the offensive line. Wade has a long history of coaching offensive lines dating back to 2003 in the college ranks. He has held the offensive coordinator position twice with both being at UT Martin in 2009 and 2018. His coaching career includes Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, East Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Marshall, Chattanooga, Midwestern State, and Mars Hill.