Two ACC coaches named to list of possible LSU hires

As the LSU coaching quest continues, a couple of under-the-radar ACC coaches were included in a list of potential replacements for vanquished LSU boss Brian Kelly. While Kelly's departure immediately started fans and media scurrying for Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss or Nick Saban from retirement, a couple of potentially viable ACC candidates are sneaking under the radar. The coaches in question, as listed on On3.com's big board by Pete Nakos, are Jeff Brohm from Louisville and Brent Key from Georgia Tech.

Brohm's resume

Given that LSU's struggles have largely been offensive in 2025, Brohm's offensive-centric style could be attractive. A Louisville alum, Brohm started his head coaching career at Western Kentucky, going 30-10 in three seasons before jumping to Purdue. Brohm was 36-34 at Purdue, but did win nine and eight games respectively in his last two seasons.

Brohm then came back to Louisville, winning 10 and nine games in his first two seasons and getting the Cardinals out to a 6-1 start in 2025. His Louisville offenses are consistently in the upper echelon of the ACC in scoring and yardage.

The knock on Brohm is his lack of championship level experience. He won a pair of conference titles at WKU, and took both Louisville and Purdue to conference title game berths, but he is light on big-game experience for such a strong program.

Key's resume

Key played at Georgia Tech and has had his only head coaching position at his alma mater. After finishing the 2022 season with a 4-4 mark, Key took Tech to 7-6 seasons in 2023 and 2024, but has taken off in 2025, going 8-0 and lifting Tech to the top of the ACC. Tech is second in the ACC in total offense (472.5 yards per game).

But if Brohm's title experience was light, Key's is even lighter. It looks likely that he'll get Georgia Tech to the ACC title game, but if so, it's his first such experience. With a 26-16 career record, it's likely that LSU would need to miss on some bigger names to subsequently sell Key as a viable next LSU head coach.

Both ACC coaches have had excellent 2025 seasons and would offer offensive upgrades, with Brohm's experience largely in the passing game and Key more in a dual-threat type attack. Neither is the flashiest of candidates, and both are short on experience, but both have picked up programs at their respective stops.