Georgia Tech's Brent Key Fires DC Jason Semore and Three Assistants as DeAndre Hopkins Takes Over Receivers

Two days after calling his team's performance a joke, Brent Key went after his own staff. Georgia Tech announced Monday, Nov. 9, that defensive coordinator Jason Semore and three other assistants had been relieved of their duties, effective immediately, with the Yellow Jackets sitting at 2-7 and riding a four-game losing streak.

Also out are offensive line coach Allen Mogridge, outside linebackers and defensive ends coach Kyle Pope, and wide receivers coach Jafar Williams. The biggest name on the reshuffled staff belongs to a former NFL star with more than 1,000 career catches: DeAndre Hopkins is now the primary wide receivers coach.

Key's statement

The school's official release (opens in a new tab) carried a measured message from the head coach. "Jason, Allen, Kyle and Jafar are good football coaches and even better men, husbands and fathers," Key said. "These decisions are not ones that I take lightly, especially in-season."

Key added that after weeks of consideration he decided the moves were necessary "in order to put our players in the best position to be successful these final three games of the season, and to put our program in position to meet the high expectations that we all have for Georgia Tech football moving forward."

The tone was calmer than Saturday. After a 44-17 home loss to Louisville at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Key told reporters, per ESPN, "I am damn pissed off." He went further: "The way we coach, the way we play, it's embarrassing. It's a joke." And he did not exempt himself, saying it "Starts with me."

Who runs what now

The new assignments cover the rest of the season. Defensive backs coach Vinnie Sunseri takes over defensive play-calling. Sunseri was Florida's co-defensive coordinator in 2025, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hopkins moves up from assistant wide receivers coach. Assistant offensive line coach Brandon Torrey becomes the primary offensive line coach. Assistant head coach Jess Simpson, who already coaches the defensive tackles, adds the defensive ends and outside linebackers. Senior defensive analyst Jack Tyler will coach the linebackers.

Key is also restructuring the offensive staff, revamping game-day roles and game planning to address what the school called deficiencies on that side of the ball.

A defense that never found its footing

Semore was supposed to be a familiar fix. Tech hired Semore in January, after one season as Southern Miss's defensive coordinator, to replace Blake Gideon. Semore had been a defensive analyst at Tech in 2019 and 2020 and coached linebackers in 2022, when Key first took over as interim head coach.

The results this fall were rough. The AJC reported that Tech ranks 136th of 138 FBS teams in rushing defense, allowing more than 222 yards per game. Louisville made that number look generous on Saturday, running for 251 yards at 7.0 per carry and building a 27-3 lead before halftime, according to Georgia Tech's game recap (opens in a new tab). Two weeks earlier, Boston College ran for 399 yards in a 49-27 win in Atlanta.

Semore, Mogridge and Williams were all in their first seasons in those jobs, per the AJC, while Pope had been with the program for three seasons.

The Hopkins factor

Hopkins joined the staff over the summer as an assistant receivers coach. According to NFL.com, Hopkins played 13 NFL seasons, the first seven in Houston, earning five Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro selections with 1,006 catches, 13,295 yards and 85 touchdowns.

Now the job is bigger. Tech's offense ranks 13th in the ACC at 23.9 points per game, per the AJC, and the receiver room now answers to a different voice for the stretch run.

What it means for Key

This is a hard turn for a coach who had built real momentum. Key led Tech to three straight winning seasons, capped by a 9-4 finish in 2025, and received a new five-year contract after last season, according to the Associated Press. The AP noted the Yellow Jackets are 3-11 over their last 14 games. At 1-5 in conference play, Tech sits last in the 18-team ACC and is assured of its first losing season since 2022. ESPN added that the program is in danger of its worst season since a 2-10 finish in 1994.

A week before the firings, on Nov. 3, Key told the AJC he had made no formal decisions on staff. "Timing and the ultimate decision are two totally different things," Key said then. The timing arrived faster than the calendar suggested.

The schedule does not get softer. Georgia Tech plays at Clemson on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 12:30 p.m. on The CW, then hosts Wake Forest on Nov. 21 for Senior Day before closing at No. 1 Georgia on Nov. 28.

The next three Saturdays will show whether new voices can change anything before the real rebuild starts.

Sources: Georgia Tech Athletics, ESPN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Associated Press, NFL.com.

Photo: Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics (file photo from Sept. 13, 2025, vs. Clemson).