Brent Key Discusses Going Against Geoff Collins on Saturday: " I wish nothing but the best for Geoff in the future"

Collins was the head coach of Georgia Tech from 2019-2022

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key on the sideline against Georgia State Panthers in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech is fresh off of a win vs Duke and the Yellow Jackets are now 4-2. To get their record to 5-2, they will have to go on the road and face North Carolina, a team that is 3-3 and the Tar Heels three losses have all come in the last three games. It feels like they are reeling a little bit, but that does not mean that they should be taken lightly.

One of the storylines of the game has nothing to do with the players on the field, but the coaches on the sideline. Former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins is the defensive coordinator for the Tar Heels and will be facing the Yellow Jackets for the first time since being fired early in the 2022 season. The man who replaced him is current Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key. When speaking with the media today, Key talked about facing Collins for the first time:

"Yeah, I mean I wish nothing but the best for Geoff in the future except for this Saturday. Yeah, so good football coach, he's on the staff with good football coaches. It's not been the first time we've gone up against someone that I've worked with before."

Key was also asked about how similar the defense that Collins is running at North Carolina is to the one he ran at Georgia Tech and if Collins familiarity with Tech's personnel is a factor for this weekend:

"Yeah, it really doesn't, not one bit. I mean, I think it's kind of the same question as before we played Georgia State. With guys that have been on the staff here and we've worked together, it doesn't. You might know a little bit philosophically, the way they think. But I mean, look at Georgia State, You go out there, you plan for one thing, you get some other things, you have to make adjustments and go play

I mean, there's similarities in every defense, but each week's a different game, different game plan. We got to prepare for things that have not shown up on tapeI mean, people are always going to have wrinkles and twist things, whether it be from mechanics, whether it be blitz patterns, you know, third down, third down matches."

While facing his former team is certainly a storyline, Collins maintained in his press conference yesterday that the focus this week is not about him:

"You guys like to hear about the team meetings that we have and the unit meetings and the big thing with the defense last night is that this is not about me. I do have deep, personal relationships with players on the team, I am very proud of them, when I see them play well, I am excited for them because I care about them and I care about their families, but this week is about being the best defense that we can be, coach our guys to play at a high level, they (Georgia Tech) have a lot of really good weapons, they are doing a really good job with the offense and we have a complete focus on what we have to do to play really well on Saturday, schematically, motivationally, all of those kinds of things, but this week is not about me at all."

Collins was then asked about his relationship with Key, for which he gave a very short answer:

"We have been friends for a very long time"

In 2019 (Collins first year at Georgia Tech), the Yellow Jackets went on the road to play at Temple, where he was the head coach previously. Collins was asked about that experience and how it compares this week to facing Georgia Tech:

"Again, I don't want this to be about me. I have had those experiences, Coach (Mack) Brown has shared he has had those experiences in the past as well, but just the complete focus is, if I spend time worrying about that, my focus is not on the players being the best that they can on Saturday so the whole focus is on how I can do the best preparation, because they do so much on offense, if my complete focus is not on what they do schematically with really good players, then I am doing a disservice to the guys so my focus is on how I can be the best coach for these guys, how I can put the best game plan together, that kind of deal"

Collins was also asked if it will be easier to play this game in Chapel Hill than Atlanta:

"I have had two years to process everything, I have come to peace with everything that happened, what we walked into, the efforts that we made and then what happened at the end, I have come at peace. I have been really self reflective on what I could have done better and what I would do the next time in similar circumstances. There is zero ill will towards anyone in the administration, fanbase, any of those things, zero ill will. I just want to be a good coach for this group of guys."

Georgia Tech vs North Carolina kicks off at 12:00 p.m. ET this Saturday on the CW Network.