BREAKING: Georgia Tech Reportedly Adds New Defensive Assistant

Kyle Pope has been the defensive line coach at Memphis since 2020

Georgia Tech has added another defensive coaching assistant. 

According to John Brice at FootballScoop, Georgia Tech is going to hire Memphis defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator Kyle Pope to be a defensive assistant. According to Brice's report, "Pope will continue to work with defensive linemen in his new role at Georgia Tech."

Sources: Georgia Tech adding defensive line coach with SEC, AAC experience https://t.co/T81QK6vhIi via @JohnDBrice1

— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) January 10, 2024

Before working at Memphis, Pope was a grad assistant at Alabama (2017-2018) working with the defensive line, and then was the linebackers coach at Liberty. He was a grad assistant at Alabama at the same time that Brent Key was the offensive line coach in Tuscaloosa. 

From his bio at Memphis Athletics: 

"Kyle Pope has been a young rising coach on my radar for a few years now. His passion, intelligence, and energy as a coach and person are remarkable," head coach Ryan Silverfield said at the time of his hiring. "He has great ties to the South and will be a wonderful asset to our program. Everyone I've met that knows Kyle has bragged about his relationships with his players and development of them on and off the field. We are excited to welcome him to Memphis."

In 2022, Pope helped guide the Tigers to a 38-10 victory over Utah State in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Memphis finished the season ranked fifth in the nation in fewest penalties (53), 10th in interceptions (16) and 25th in turnovers gained (25).

Individually, defensive lineman Jaylon Allen was named Honorable-Mention All-AAC after finishing the year with a team-best five sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

In 2021, Pope helped the Tigers to the program’s eighth-straight bowl appearance, as the team was named EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl champions after Hawai’i withdrew from the game. For his effort, Pope was named to 247Sports’ 30Under30 List.

Former Memphis Defensive Line Coach Kyle Pope :: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Pope is the second defensive assistant that Brent Key has hired this offseason. 

Former Duke defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Jess Simpson is going to be joining the Yellow Jackets staff in a role to be announced at a later date. 

Simpson was a fantastic high school head coach while he was at Buford from 2005-2016. He spent a year as a defensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons before joining Mark Richt's staff at Miami in 2018. After a year with the Hurricanes, he returned to Atlanta to coach the Falcons defensive line for two seasons before heading back to Miami for another year with the Hurricanes. After Manny Diaz was fired at Miami, Simpson joined Mike Elko's staff at Duke, where he was the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for the past two seasons

While Simpson will be a part of the defensive staff, Brent Key has yet to find a defensive coordinator. That search remains ongoing.

Whether it was with Duke or Miami, Simpson has gotten production from the units he coaches and Georgia Tech needs a huge step up from every level of its defense in 2024 if it wants to improve its win total from 2023.

Georgia Tech had the worst defense in the ACC last season and one of the worst in the country, but Key is in the midst of adding new members to the staff in hopes of improving on those numbers from last year and improve on the seven wins he got this year.  

Stay tuned for the latest.

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