Early career Key served as a
graduate assistant under
George O'Leary at Georgia Tech during the 2001 season. He would later join O'Leary at UCF. Key also served as tight ends and running backs coach at Western Carolina in 2004.
UCF Key was hired in 2004 as a graduate assistant for UCF in 2005. At various points during his tenure with UCF, Key was the
offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, offensive line coach, special teams coach, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator for the
UCF Knights. After the 2012 season, Key was promoted to assistant head coach and then to offensive coordinator following the 2013 season. While as an assistant at the
University of Central Florida (UCF), Key was selected to be the
heir apparent to
George O'Leary following his retirement. Following the
2013 season in which UCF won the
Fiesta Bowl, Key reportedly declined the head coaching job at
UAB to remain with the Knights. Key left UCF following their 0-12
2015 season, which would be O'Leary's last with the team. In 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2020 Key was nominated for the
Broyles Award, given for the top assistant in college football.
Alabama On February 15, 2016, Key was hired as the offensive line coach at the
University of Alabama, replacing
Mario Cristobal. Cristobal remained on staff as tight ends coach.
Cam Robinson,
Ross Pierschbacher, and
Jonah Williams are a few of Key’s linemen who would go on to be named All-Americans during his tenure at Bama. Alabama would go on to win one national championship (
2017) and two SEC championships (
2016,
2018). During his tenure, Key was widely regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in college football. Offensive lines coached by Key have been a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, presented annually to the top offensive line in the nation, three times in his career.
Georgia Tech Key left Alabama for his alma mater
Georgia Tech in 2019, serving as assistant head coach and offensive line coach under newly hired head coach
Geoff Collins. Following a 10-28 record over 4 seasons, Collins was fired in early 2022 and Key was named interim head coach. He went 4–4 as interim head coach, with notable wins over #24
Pittsburgh and #13
North Carolina. Because of the team’s improvement during his tenure, the interim tag was taken off on November 29 as Key was named Georgia Tech’s 21st head football coach. In
2023, Key led Georgia Tech to a 7-6 record, reaching its first
bowl game and achieving its first winning season since 2018. This season was notable for a homecoming upset of #17 North Carolina and a last second victory over #17 Miami, in which Georgia Tech scored a touchdown with 2 seconds left in the game following former colleague Mario Cristobal's decision to not
take a knee in the final 40 seconds of the 4th quarter. Key began the
2024 season in Dublin, Ireland with an upset victory over the #10 Florida State Seminoles. Key and the Yellow Jackets started the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 season. After struggling with numerous injuries including quarterback
Haynes King, running back
Jamal Haynes, and linebacker Kyle Efford, the Jackets would later upset previously-undefeated #4 Miami at Bobby Dodd Stadium at homecoming. With the win over Miami, Georgia Tech became bowl eligible for two consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013-2014. The following week, in a thrilling Thursday night win over NC State in which backup quarterback Aaron Philo scored a go-ahead touchdown with 22 seconds left, Georgia Tech clinched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2013-2014. In December 2024, Georgia Tech agreed to a five-year extension of Key's contract, extending his tenure as coach through 2029. ==Personal life==