Three Rising Stars On Georgia Tech Coaching Staff

Names to know on the Yellow Jackets staff that could rise up the ranks

Mar 17, 2022; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket quarterback coach Chris Weinke on the field during the Georgia Tech Spring Game. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech has assembled a new coaching staff for the 2026 season and will have several new faces on the sidelines in the fall. However, several names are standing out as stars on the rise in the coaching ranks. Let’s take a deeper look at those names and who they are. 

1. Chris Weinke 

Quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke has continued to have the quarterbacks he has coached play at a high level. You look at last year when Haynes King was named the Offensive Player of the Year and the ACC Player of the Year after a spectacular season on the Flats. He even got a chance to coach the offense in the Pop Tarts Bowl against BYU and nearly helped engineer a comeback for the Yellow Jackets. The former Heisman trophy winner has continued to thrive with every opportunity he has been granted and has continued to ascend. In 2026, he will have a new challenge with Alberto Mendoza, who has only 25 career passing attempts. It is a big task, but if he can develop him into a top conference quarterback, it would only add to the name he is building as a quarterback whisperer. Those within the program see the growth of guys like Grady Adamson and Graham Knowles in their spring performances. It is just a matter of time before he is recognized as a top coach nationally. 

2. Jimmy Smith 

Running backs coach Jimmy Smith has one on every level, including as a player (two conference titles) and as a head high school football coach with Metro Atlanta power Cedar Grove Saints. He has coached at Georgia State, Arkansas, and TCU and has had a great deal of success. He could be in line to move up the ranks, especially if the Yellow Jackets running backs have a good season. He will have plenty of talent at his disposal with Justice Haynes, Malachi Hosley, Trelain Maddox, Chad Alexander, Shane Marshall, and J.P. Powell. If either and maybe even both of those backs are highly productive and have great seasons, he can continue to build buzz around his name. He is also a great recruiter and has brought in two four-star running backs in Moonie Gipson and Tristan Willis. Imagine the top of talent he will be able to continue to recruit if the Yellow Jackets running game pops like how we know it can. 

3. Vinny Sunseri 

A talented defensive backs coach who came up in the Nick Saban coaching tree and learned from one of the best coaches of all time. Sunseri has quite the resume coaching for Alabama, Washington, Florida, and the New England Patriots. He gets a bigger role with the Yellow Jackets, overseeing all the defensive backs and coaching in a more aggressive scheme that should lead to overall success for the position. With the talented players he has at his disposal, Tae Harris, Fenix Felton, Savion Riley, and Kealan Jones, it should be a successful season for a young but talented room. If Sunseri can produce a couple of All-ACC guys, then his name should continue to grow and become one of the hot names on the coaching circuit.