Rebuilding The Offensive Staff Is the Latest Challenge In Front Of Brent Key At Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech has had a very nice season, finishing 9-3 in the regular season and earning a bid in the Pop Tarts Bowl against No. 12 BYU. They had one of the best offenses in the country, led by quarterback Haynes King, who finished 10th in Heisman Trophy voting, and they were close to being participants in the ACC Championship game. Yes, they faltered a bit down the stretch and lost three of four to end the season, but it was still a successful season that showed the progress that Brent Key has made as the head coach of the program.

His next challenge: Replacing his offensive staff, including one of the country's top playcallers, Buster Faulkner. Faulkner is not the only offensive coach to have left since the season ended however.

Yesterday, FootballScoop reported that assistant quarterbacks coach A.J. Erdely was leaving Atlanta to take a spot on Florida's staff. Today, CBS Sports Matt Zenitz is reporting that H-Backs coach Dylan Dockery, assistant offensive line coach Mike Polly, and Emil Ekiyor are following Faulkner to Gainesville. Other offensive coaches that have reportedly left Georgia Tech include RB's coach Norval McKenzie and offensive line coach Geep Wade, who have left for Virginia Tech and Nebraska, respectively.

Next big challenge

Brent Key Georgia Tec — Nov 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key runs on the field before a game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Key has done a good job with offensive staff hires in the past, bringing in Faulkner from Georgia and turning the Yellow Jackets into one of the most formidable offenses in the ACC and the country. He now has to construct a new staff to keep things rolling on that side of the ball and it all starts with the playcaller. While the offensive coordinator position is not the only one that Key has to fill, hiring one should start a trickle down effect when that coach brings on other coaches with which he is familiar with.

But who should that be?

Last week, former NFL and college coach Chip Kelly and current UNLV offensive coordinator (and former Georgia Tech player) Corey Dennis reportedly interviewed for the position.

Dennis came up through the coaching ranks from Ohio State where he spent nine seasons, including the last five as quarterbacks coach. After taking the lead of the Buckeyes’ quarterback room in 2020, he helped produce three Heisman finalists and future NFL First Round draft picks in 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud, Justin Fields and the late Dwayne Haskins.

Named to the 247Sports 30-under-30 list in 2021, Dennis also served as senior quality control coach for two years (2018-19). In that position, he was involved in game planning, practice planning and daily organization with the wide receiver and QB units.

During his time on the OSU coaching staff, Dennis was part of four Big Ten championship teams and victories in the 2022 Rose Bowl, 2020 Fiesta Bowl, 2018 Cotton Bowl and 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

Dennis began his career on the Buckeye staff as an intern just before the 2015 spring season and a graduate assistant from 2016-17. A four-year letterwinner at Georgia Tech, he played in all 54 games as receiver, in the secondary and on special teams for Yellow Jacket squads that won two ACC Coastal Division titles and appeared in four bowl games.

Both Dennis and Kelly are intriguing options.

Kelly rose to prominence when he was the head coach at Oregon, revolutionizing their offense and bringing about a new wave of offenses in college football. He was regarded as one of, if not the top offensive minds in the sport. He took the Ducks to the national championship game in 2010. Before he left for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching job, Kelly had a 46-7 career record.

Kelly was the Eagles head coach from 2013-2015 and then was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for the 2016 season. After taking a year off, Kelly returned to college, becoming the head coach of UCLA in 2018. Kelly's tenure did not start off well, as he missed a bowl game in his first three seasons, but he got things turned around and finished with three straight seasons of at least eight wins. Kelly left UCLA to be the offensive coordinator for Ohio State after the 2023 season and his final record at UCLA was 35-34.

Kelly was a fantastic offensive coordinator for Ohio State last season, helping lead the Buckeyes to the national championship and calling plays for the most talented offense in the country. After spending only one season in Columbus, Kelly left to become the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was fired after a 2-9 start to the season.

There are some positives to Kelly as an offensive coordinator, but not without their questions as well.

Under Brent Key, Georgia Tech wants to have a physical identity by running the football and having a strong offensive line. Kelly is one of the best run game architects in the entire sport and is still a very good play caller at the collegiate level. Yes, Georgia Tech does not have the level of talent that Ohio State does, but Kelly is still a creative mind and brings plenty of head coaching experience from both levels, which is a plus.

The potential negatives are that Kelly is not regarded as a strong recruiter, which has been a label he has carried since his days at Oregon. Key wants to build his program with strong high school recruiting and Kelly is not exactly a plus in that regard, though coordinators don't exactly recruit as much as they used to.

Kelly also is coming off a very poor tenure as the Raiders OC. Was that just a by-product of him not being a good enough OC for the NFL or a bad sign

There are surely other candidates in what has been a thorough search for the Georgia Tech head coach, but this is going to be one of the most important hires he has had to make. Georgia Tech is a program looking to continue its upward trajectory and Key deserves the benefit of the doubt to get this program where it needs to be this offseason.

Next big challenge

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