Report: Georgia Tech RB's Coach Norval McKenzie Is Leaving For Rival ACC School

An ACC school is after Georgia Tech's running back coach

Coach Norval McKenzie in at home visit with 2026 RB CJ Givers of Fellowship Christian HS on January 28,2025 | Photo Courtesy Of CJ Givers X (cj_givers)

It has not been an easy offseason for Georgia Tech so far. A lot of their coaches are being poached and heading to different places after a successful season on the flats. While running backs coach Norval McKenzie hasn't left yet, a major ACC rival is targeting him for the same role he serves currently with the Yellow Jackets. That team is the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Virginia Tech is targeting Georgia Tech’s Norval McKenzie for its running backs coach job, sources tell @CBSSports.

Aided by McKenzie, Georgia Tech has ranked in the top in the ACC in rushing each of the last three years. pic.twitter.com/JVBQEzTOx0

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 15, 2025

Virginia Tech hired head coach James Franklin as their new coach during the season, and they are off to a good start building out their staff. The Yellow Jackets couldn't fend off their rival to keep one of the top coaches at the running back position the sport has to offer.

A thing of note is McKenzie has great Atlanta ties playing for McEachern High school before gong on to Vanderbilt where he amassed 1,724 yards from scrimmage. Before coming to the Yellow Jackets, McKenzie was the running backs/running game coordinator for his alma mater Vanderbilt.

McKenzie was a big part of the staff head coach Brent Key built out when he took over as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets. He has served in that role since 2023. In his first two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, his running backs totalled 3,903 scrimmage yards and 32 touchdowns

McKenzie was pivotal in the transition of Jamal Haynes from wide receiver to running back. Haynes went on to have back-to-back 900-yard rushing seasons and became an All-ACC selection. He was also big this past season in the continued development of Malachi Hosley, who emerged as one of the better running backs in the conference. Hosley was an All-ACC honorable mention after rushing for 634 yards and seven touchdowns. An underrated part of McKenzie is that he is a really good recruiter. He has brought in a number of talented runing backs like J.P. Powell and Shane Marshal who both have bright futures ahead of them.

With great success comes turnover; Georgia Tech is experiencing that right now in an offseason that has been a big shakeup in its coaching staff. Surprisingly, we haven't seen a lot of players hit the transfer portal for the Yellow Jackets. Maybe there will be changes in the coming days for the team. McKenzie is a tough loss to stomach for the Yellow Jackets, with how good he has been at recruiting and developing players throughout his three-year tenure.