Rumors began circulating recently that Penn State’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Pat Kraft, would be flying to Georgia Tech sometime this week to interview the Yellow Jackets’ head coach, Brent Key.

Key was on a lot of early coaching boards, but seemingly lost momentum for the Penn State job for no reason at all. The Trussville, Alabama, native has his team competing for a playoff spot and an ACC championship with just one loss this season.

The reason people have put Key in the conversation for the Penn State and other jobs is because he is a Nick Saban product. He was the offensive line coach for the college football legend from 2016 to 2018.

Other coaches to come from the ranks of those Alabama teams include Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, and Curt Cignetti. It appears that it is only a matter of time before Key makes a jump to a powerhouse and starts competing for National Championships.

Similar to what James Franklin was often associated with, Key is an elite culture builder. As he was tasked with rebuilding the Georgia Tech football program, the former offensive lineman has installed a hard-nosed and relentless team.

Key fits perfectly with the blue-collar attitude that Penn State is looking for.

“This person has to fit Penn State. They need to represent the toughness, the blue-collar work ethic, and the class that defines this institution,” Kraft said about the coaching search just a day after firing Franklin.” We want someone who honors our tradition but isn’t afraid to evolve; someone who understand the weight of “we are” and leads us forward with a vision of championships.”

The Georgia Tech head coach has also become known for his elite recruiting. One of the first things he did when taking over the role in 2022 was to try to reestablish relationships with the Georgia high schools.

Penn State has to continue to win the recruiting battles in its home state to be successful in the future, so the fit seems to work perfectly.

History

Like many of the potential Penn State head coach candidates, Key played at the school he currently coaches for. He played guard under head coach George O’Leary, starting all four years at the school. The Yellow Jackets made bowl games all four years Key played and beat in-state rivals Georgia three straight times.

Naturally, Key took a job as a graduate assistant in 2001 and 2002 under his former head coach. The Alabama native did not hold a coaching position in 2003, at least not one listed online, but joined Western Carolina in the Southern Conference as a tight ends and running backs coach.

After that, Key teamed up again with O’Leary at UCF, once again as a graduate assistant. He stayed with UCF from 2005 to 2015, working his way up the ladder the entire time. He went from tight ends coach to special teams coordinator to offensive line coach before eventually becoming the offensive coordinator in 2012.

The Knights won four conference championships and made eight bowl games during his time. Key was not there for the 2017 season when UCF claimed a national championship.

Key took a chance in 2016, losing his offensive coordinator title to join Saban’s staff at Alabama as an offensive line coach until 2018. Key replaced now Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, who moved to tight ends coach that season.

During his time with the Crimson Tide, Key helped develop elite talent such as Cam Robinson, Ross Pierschbacher, and Jonah Williams. Alabama also won a National Championship in 2016 and two SEC titles in 2017 and 2018 while he was on staff. His offensive line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award all three seasons as well.

Key finally returned to Georgia Tech in 2019 as an assistant head coach, run game coordinator, and offensive line coach. He held this position until 2022, when the firing of Geoff Collins made him the interim head coach, a role he would eventually get for good.

Is It Realistic?

This move makes a lot of sense for both parties. Similar to Brian Hartline, Jeff Brohm, and Kenny Dillingham, a lot of the other coaching candidates, though, this is all about how much it will take to pull Key from his alma mater.

“You rather have your name talked about in a positive way than a negative way for sure. So it comes with the territory,” Key said about the links to job openings. “Look, if the player came to me and said, hey, coach, I think you need to talk to the team about something like that. I would. I’m very transparent with this team. You try to keep things as black and white as possible. But I’m pretty sure everybody on that football team knows exactly where I stand.”

Yet again, another coach not directly saying no. When coach positions such as Penn State and LSU open up, it begins that game. Every coach will either look to take the job or use the job to get an extension. At the end of the day, though, don’t believe anything a coach says until the job is filled.

Key’s contract is not that great. The Georgia Tech head coach is making $4.5 million a year, per The Augusta Chronicle, ranking 10th in the ACC. Franklin was making over $8 million per year while at Penn State, and with the need to get the decision right, Kraft would likely be willing to get close to that number again.

The X-factor in this whole thing is whether Georgia Tech makes the playoffs. There are two debating beliefs around these big jobs. Some think you should wait until after the playoffs to hire your coach if it means you get the right guy. Others think that you risk a terrible 2026 season, and you should get someone available right after the season.

Georgia Tech is currently +250 to make the dance, per DraftKings, so Kraft will have to make a decision which side he is on.

Another interesting twist to the story is that both Kraft and Key know Collins well and will likely talk to him about each other. Kraft hired Collins at Temple in 2017 as the head coach, and Collins hired Key when he was the head coach at Georgia Tech.