Georgia Tech's Brent Key has seen his name mentioned for several vacant coaching jobs, but Thursday he shot down any rumors he'd be departing his alma mater in emphatic fashion.
"Slice me open and see what colors I bleed," Key said at a Georgia Tech news conference in response to a question about other coaching jobs.
Key is a 2000 graduate of Georgia Tech, where he was an All-ACC offensive lineman. He returned to the school in 2019 to serve on Geoff Collins' staff. When Collins was fired midway through the 2022 season, Key was elevated to interim head coach, then landed the full time job after a strong finish to the year.
Key is 26-17 overall since taking over at Georgia Tech, though he's won seven games over ranked ACC opponents and has led the Yellow Jackets to an 8-1 record so far this season.
Georgia Tech had been ranked as high as seventh in the AP poll but checked in at No. 17 in the first College Football Playoff rankings after a stunning Week 10 loss to NC State.
Key said his work at Georgia Tech is about building a long-term infrastructure that means the program where losses like last week's don't impact the narrative of a regular playoff contender.
"Other than when I'm with my family, every waking second of my life has gone toward building this program to get to the point that it is right now," Key said, "So we can continue, three years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, to continue to elevate this place. Not to be in there two or three weeks. Not when you lose one game for people to say the storybook's over. Nah. It's just beginning."
Key served as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2016 to 2018, and his name had been mentioned in connection to several SEC vacancies, including at Florida and Auburn.
Georgia Tech has an open date this week before finishing the regular season with a trip to Boston College and home dates with Pitt and rival Georgia.