Having sat in the big office before, Brian Bohannon knows what it’s like to be the head coach, to be inundated with meetings, emails, phone calls, text messages, requests and, mostly, problems that need to be solved. So Bohannon, 54, doesn’t make a habit of moseying into Georgia Tech coach Brent Key’s office at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
If he does happen to venture into Key’s office, the former Kennesaw State head coach does so just to let Key know he’s around to lend a helping hand or to be a sounding board.
“Anytime you can have someone else in the building that’s sat in that seat and you can bounce things off of or share things with or sometimes just vent to, it’s been a huge help,” Key said of Bohannon’s presence.
In early November, Bohannon was dismissed as Kennesaw State’s coach after nearly a dozen years with the school. He was hired there in 2013 to help with the creation of the KSU football program.
Bohannon led the Owls to four Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances and, more dauntingly, the program’s transition into the Football Bowl Subdivision and Conference USA. But KSU decided to go a different direction before the 2024 season ended, leaving Bohannon unemployed.
“This morning I was informed directly from (Athletic director Milton) Overton that he was making a change in leadership,” Bohannon posted on X on Nov. 10. “Contrary to what’s been reported, I want to be clear that I did not step down from my position as head football coach at Kennesaw State University. Since we started the football program, I have had the pleasure of coaching and working alongside so many great people. I appreciate your hard work and dedication to this program.”
When Tech was preparing for its Birmingham Bowl matchup with Vanderbilt in December, Bohannon hung around the Yellow Jackets to watch how Key’s program went about its business. He was impressed.
Key then offered Bohannon a role as senior offensive assistant for the 2025, and Bohannon now works with the team’s offense and, more specifically, Tech running backs.
“It’s been really good, but it’s been different,” Bohannon said. “Obviously you’re in charge for 11 years, and then you kind of move to a different role, and you’re learning and you wanna listen and you wanna make sure you say the right thing, you do the right thing. I have so much respect for everybody here and how they do things. You wanna make sure you do it the right way.”
Bohannon is no stranger to Bobby Dodd Stadium. He directed quarterbacks and B-backs from 2008-12 at Tech alongside former Tech coach Paul Johnson before becoming the KSU coach.
Bohannon said as many differences as there are between Tech football in 2025 and in 2012, there are plenty of similarities in the way Key and Johnson have built their programs on the pillars of toughness, physicality and playing hard.
A Griffin High School graduate and a wide receiver at Georgia in the early 1990s, Bohannon said his goal is to return to that big office someday, somewhere. Until then he’s simply focused on learning how to become a better coach.
“I’m honored and appreciative and excited to even be here, back at the podium again, at Georgia Tech. First thing I said to Key was, ‘Coach, I’d just love the opportunity to learn and grow from what you guys are doing here.’ It took a little bit of time, but honestly, it worked out where I could come learn and grow and be a part of a great staff and a great time to be at Georgia Tech for Georgia Tech football.
“Every day I’m learning something from somebody within this program. It could be overarching it could be schematically, it could be coaching style, all of the above. Whether you’re 54 years old or you’re 28 years old, I think every day and every moment is a learning moment and a growth moment.”
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