Kirby Smart and Brent Key Share Both History and Perspective on Georgia-Georgia Tech
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key will meet again on Saturday when the undefeated Bulldogs (11-0, 8-0) play host to the bowl-hopeful Yellow Jackets (5-6, 4-4).
The two coaches have seen their paths cross before. Smart, an All-SEC safety at Georgia, played in Athens from 1995-1998. Key, now the head coach at his alma mater as well, played offensive line at Georgia Tech from 1997-2000. They split the two matchups against each other as players in Clean, Old Fashioned Hate, with Smart’s Bulldogs winning 27-24 in 1998, and Key’s Yellow Jackets getting revenge in 1998, 21-19.
The two have met as coaches many times, but never when both were head coaches. Kirby Smart left Alabama for Georgia in 2016, the same year Alabama hired Brent Key as an offensive assistant. A year later, in 2017 Alabama would defeat Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Then, in 2018, Alabama would take down Georgia again, this time in the SEC Championship.
Following the 2018 season, Brent Key made a lateral move, taking the offensive line coaching job at Georgia Tech, stunning many in the industry. In that time, Georgia Tech has played Georgia twice (Tech canceled the 2020 game due to Covid concerns), losing both games by a combined score of 97-7.
You don’t go from Alabama to Georgia Tech unless you’re taking over the program. Well, a few years later, Key is absolutely in a position to do that.
Following Geoff Collins’ dismissal after a 1-3 start, Georgia Tech has gone 4-3 in what has basically amounted to an extended audition for Brent Key. With injuries too many key players, including quarterback Jeff Sims, Key has taken the Yellow Jackets back to some basic principles that many who follow Kirby Smart and Nick Saban will recognize: running the ball and a simplified defense.
“Known Brent for a long time. He played at Tech while I played at Georgia. We played against each other. And we spent some summers together. And I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. You know, he was the O-line coach at Alabama one of the years we played them. And they did a really good job. His offensive lines are always physical, get after it. There's a lot of familiarity with their staff, with ours, Chip Long, Cheney, and all the guys that have been over there. And so, they're playing really well now. They're playing really hard now. And I think he's done a tremendous job at getting these guys to compete.” said Smart in his weekly press conference on Monday.
Georgia is a 35.5-point favorite this Saturday, but this game feels like it has more juice than many of the recent matchups. Both head coaches played for the schools they’re representing during some of the nastiest years of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate. They know what this game is supposed to feel like. At 5-6, Georgia Tech is not just playing for a chance to knock off their top-ranked rivals but also for a guaranteed bowl spot. Expect a lot more fight from the men from Atlanta. You shouldn’t expect anything different from a team coached by a former offensive lineman.
You can follow Christian Goeckel on Twitter: @goeckelsports
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