Brent Key, the current head coach for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets college football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Yellow Jackets compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The school has had 23 official head coaches since first fielding a team in 1892, including four who have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: John Heisman, William Alexander, Bobby Dodd, and Paul Johnson.[1][2] Brent Key is the current head coach of the program, taking over the role midway through the 2022 season following the dismissal of Geoff Collins.[3]

Georgia Tech has played in over 1,300 football games across 131 seasons.[4] During that time, four head coaches have won a national championship: Heisman (1917), Alexander (1928), Dodd (1952), and Bobby Ross (1990). Six coaches (Heisman, Alexander, Dodd, Ross, George O'Leary, and Johnson[A 1]) have won conference championships and twelve different coaches have led Georgia Tech in a post-season bowl game.[6]

Alexander holds the Georgia Tech record for the longest coaching tenure (25 seasons), most games coached (244), most losses (95), and most ties (15). Heisman has the highest winning percentage, (.759), among Georgia Tech coaches who coached at least ten games. Dodd holds the Georgia Tech record for most wins (165).[7]

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list
General Overall Conference Postseason[A 2]
No. Order of coaches[A 3] GC Games coached CW Conference wins PW Postseason wins
DC Division championships OW Overall wins CL Conference losses PL Postseason losses
CC Conference championships OL Overall losses CT Conference ties PT Postseason ties
NC National championships OT Overall ties[A 4] C% Conference winning percentage
† Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame O% Overall winning percentage[A 5]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards[A 6]
No. Name Term GC OW OL OT O% CW CL CT C% PW PL PT DC
[A 7] 		CC NC Awards
1 Ernest West 1892 3 0 3 0 .000 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
2 Leonard Wood [A 8] 1893 3 2 1 1 0.625 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
3 Dutch Dorsey [A 9] 1894 3 0 3 0 .000 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
— No team 1895 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
4 J. B. Wood [A 10] 1896–1898 11 [A 11] 3 7 1 0.318 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
5 Cow Nalley [A 12] 1899 5 0 5 0 .000 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
6 Harris Collier [A 13] 1900 4 0 4 0 .000 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
7 John McKee [A 14] 1901 5 4 0 1 0.900 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
8 George Andree [A 15] 1902 8 0 6 2 0.125 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
9 Oliver Huie [A 16] 1903 8 3 5 0 0.375 — — — — — — — — — 0 —
10 John Heisman† 1904–1919 138 102 29 7 0.764 — — — — — — — — 3 [A 17] 1  (1917) —
11 William Alexander† 1920–1944 244 134 95 15 0.580 74 54 15 0.570 3 2 0 — 8[A 17] 1  (1928) SEC Coach of the Year (1939)[25]
AFCA Coach of the Year (1942)[26]
12 Bobby Dodd† 1945–1966 237 165 64 8 0.713 82 39 4 0.672 9 4 0 — 2 1  (1952) SEC Coach of the Year (1951)[27]
13 Bud Carson 1967–1971 54 27 27 0 0.500 — — — — 1 1 0 — — 0 —
14 Bill Fulcher 1972–1973 23 12 10 1 0.543 — — — — 1 0 0 — — 0 —
15 Pepper Rodgers 1974–1979 67 34 31 2 0.522 — — — — 0 1 0 — — 0 —
16 Bill Curry 1980–1986 78 31 43 4 0.423 13 8 1 0.614 1 0 0 — 0 0 ACC Coach of the Year (1985)[28]
17 Bobby Ross 1987–1991 58 31 26 1 0.543 15 18 1 0.456 2 0 0 — 1 1  (1990) ACC Coach of the Year (1990)[29]
AFCA Coach of the Year (1990)[26]
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (1990)[30]
FWAA Coach of the Year (1990)[31]
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1990)[32]
Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year (1990)[33]
Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1990)[34]
Woody Hayes Trophy (1990)[35]
18 Bill Lewis [A 18] 1992–1994 30 11 19 0 0.367 7 15 0 0.318 0 0 0 — 0 0 —
19 George O'Leary [A 19] 1994–2001 85 52 33 0 0.612 36 23 0 0.610 2 2 0 — 1 0 ACC Coach of the Year (1998, 2000)[29]
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (2000)[30]
— Mac McWhorter [A 20] 2001 1 1 0 — 1.000 0 0 — — 1 0 — — 0 0 —
20 Chan Gailey [A 21] 2002–2007 76 44 32 — 0.579 28 20 — 0.583 2 3 — 1 0 0 —
— Jon Tenuta [A 22] 2007 1 0 1 — .000 0 0 — — 0 1 — 0 0 0 —
21 Paul Johnson† 2008–2018 142 82 60 — 0.577 51 37 — 0.580 3 6 — 3 group="A"))) 0 ACC Coach of the Year (2008, 2009, 2014)[29]
22 Geoff Collins [A 23] 2019–2022 38 10 28 — 0.263 7 19 — 0.269 0 0 — 0 0 0 —
23 Brent Key [A 24] 2022- 21 11 10 — 0.524 9 6 — 0.600 1 0 — 1.000 0 0 —

Notes

  1. ^ Johnson's conference championship was later vacated by the NCAA.[5]
  2. ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[8]
  3. ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
  4. ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[9]
  5. ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[10]
  6. ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 college football season.
  7. ^ Divisional champions have advanced to the ACC Championship Game since the institution of divisional play beginning in the 2005 season. Since that time, Georgia Tech has competed in the ACC Coastal Division.[11] Divisional play was not used in the 2020 season due to schedule disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] The divisional format was permanently discontinued starting with the 2023 season.[12]
  8. ^ Frank Spain is erroneously listed as co-head coach for the 1893 season in the Georgia Tech media guide. Spain was the team's center and helped raise money for the team.[13]
  9. ^ Leonard Wood and Frank Spain are erroneously listed as co-head coaches by the Georgia Tech media guide, though neither of them were still part of the team. Spain had resigned as a teacher at Georgia Tech earlier in the year to pursue acting.[13] Rufus "Dutch" Dorsey was the coach.[14]
  10. ^ The Georgia Tech information guide erroneously lists no coach for the 1896-1897 seasons and Cow Nalley for the 1898 season, though math professor, J. B. Wood, coached the team. [15][16] [17]
  11. ^ Includes two wins and two losses erroneously left out of the Georgia Tech information guide.
  12. ^ Harris Collier is erroneously listed as the head coach by the Georgia Tech media guide, but he was coaching at Tulane in 1899. Cow Nalley was coach. [18]
  13. ^ The Georgia Tech media guide erroneously lists no coach for 1900, but Collier coached the team.[19]
  14. ^ The Georgia Tech media guide erroneously lists Cyrus W. Strickler as the coach in 1901, but there is no record that he was ever involved with the team. McKee was the coach.[20]
  15. ^ The Georgia Tech media guide erroneously lists McKee as the coach in 1902, but Andree has a picture and long bio as the Tech coach in the newspaper. [21][22]
  16. ^ The Georgia Tech media guide erroneously lists McKee as the coach in 1903, but Huie is named as Tech coach in the newspaper. [23]
  17. ^ a b According to the 2023 Georgia Tech Football Information Guide, Georgia Tech was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from the 1916 season to the 1921 season. The guide does not give a breakdown for conference results, but does claim that Georgia Tech was the conference champion five times, three times under Heisman and two times under Alexander.[24]
  18. ^ Lewis resigned on November 7, 1994, and the final three games of the season were coached by George O'Leary[36]
  19. ^ O'Leary was named as interim head coach for the final three games of the 1994 season following Lewis' dismissal. O'Leary resigned prior to the 2001 bowl game after being named as head coach at Notre Dame[36]
  20. ^ McWhorter was named interim head coach for the final game of the 2001 season after O'Leary accepted the head coach position at Notre Dame.[37]
  21. ^ Gailey was dismissed as head coach on November 26, 2007, and Tenuta was named as interim head coach for the final game of the 2007 season.[38]
  22. ^ Tenuta was named as the interim head coach for the final game of the 2007 season following Gailey's dismissal.[38]
  23. ^ Collins was dismissed on September 26, 2022, and Key was named as interim head coach for the final eight games of the 2022 season.[3]
  24. ^ Key was named as interim head coach for the final eight games of the 2022 season following Collins' dismissal.[3]

References

  1. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 186.
  2. ^ Aubrey 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Caudell 2022.
  4. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 194.
  5. ^ a b Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 213.
  6. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, pp. 190–195.
  7. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 196.
  8. ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  9. ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  10. ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  11. ^ a b Newton 2022.
  12. ^ Hale 2022.
  13. ^ a b Georgia Tech Alumnus 1933, p. 24.
  14. ^ "The Hall and Campus". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. October 14, 1894.
  15. ^ "Tech" Opens Soon, Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 21, 1896
  16. ^ Tech Football Men Here, Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 30, 1897
  17. ^ Georgia Tech Alumnus 1971, p. 29.
  18. ^ Nally Will Be Coach for Tech, Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 8, 1899
  19. ^ Football Practice Begins, Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 19, 1900
  20. ^ Techs to Meet Gordon Cadets This Afternoon, Atlanta Journal Constitution, October 12, 1901
  21. ^ Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 27, 1902
  22. ^ Atlanta Journal Constitution, October 7, 1902
  23. ^ Atlanta Journal Constitution, October 4, 1903
  24. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, pp. 190–191.
  25. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 250.
  26. ^ a b American Football Coaches Association.
  27. ^ Georgia Tech Athletics 2022, p. 250.
  28. ^ Georgia Tech Athletics 2022, p. 252.
  29. ^ a b c Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 252.
  30. ^ a b Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.
  31. ^ Football Writers Association of America.
  32. ^ Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards 2021.
  33. ^ Bradley 2014.
  34. ^ Walter Camp Football Foundation 2021.
  35. ^ Touchdown Club of Columbus.
  36. ^ a b Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 210.
  37. ^ Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 211.
  38. ^ a b Georgia Tech Information Guide 2023, p. 212.

Sources

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