The Miami football team will play Georgia Tech after the Yellow Jackets shuffled their defensive staff following a 38-27 loss to Bowling Green on Saturday. Jackson Caudell of All Yellow Jackets reported “Georgia Tech promotes Kevin Sherrer to defensive coordinator, demotes Andrew Thacker to safeties coach.”
Georgia Tech is 2-3 overall after the loss to Bowling Green. The Falcons play in the Mid-American Conference. Miami beat Bowling Green Conference rival Miami (Ohio) 38-3 in the season opener on September 1. Georgia Tech is 1-1 in the ACC with a loss to Louisville and a win over Wake Forest.
This is the second time in less than a year that Georgia Tech has made a football staff coaching change. Georgia Tech elevated Brent Key to head coach after the first four games of the 2022 season. Sherrer is a 1996 Alabama graduate where he was a tight end from 1993 to 1995.
Sherrer is in his first season at Georgia Tech. Key hired Sherrer as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from the New York Giants in January. Thacker followed former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins from Temple to Atlanta. Thacker has been defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech since 2019.
Andrew Thacker, Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator since 2019, demoted to safeties coach following Tech’s 38-27 loss to Bowling Green. Kevin Sherrer promoted to Tech’s new DC
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 1, 2023
Prior to being hired at Georgia Tech, Thacker was the defensive coordinator at Temple in 2018 under Collins. Thacker was the linebackers coach at Temple in 2017. Thacker has previous experience as a safeties coach at Southern Mississippi in 2013 and Central Florida during the 2015 season.
Georgia Tech is 12th in the ACC allowing 30.8 points per game, 14th and last allowing 427.8 yards per game, and giving up 224.20 rushing YPG and sixth allowing 203.6 passing YPG. Sherrer will have a difficult task in his first game as Georgia Tech’s DC versus an elite offense for the Miami football team.
Miami leads the ACC averaging 43.8 points per game, 519.0 total yards per game and 222.50 rushing YPG and is fourth averaging 296.5 passing yards per game. Shannon Dawson has Miami playing at a high level offensively. With Thacker moving up to DC, Dawson will not have a blueprint for how Georgia Tech schemes defensively.
Georgia Tech players will have the difficulty of having to potentially adapt to a new defensive scheme the week they play the best offense in the ACC. Miami should continue to roll offensively against a defense that has struggled greatly this season. Georgia Tech has allowed over 30 points and 400 yards in three games in 2023.