Who Will Win ACC Coach of the Year?

Its never too early to start thinking about post season awards. This year the title of ACC Coach of the Year could be a very interesting race. On the surface, It would be very easy to hand the title to the expected conference champion, Coach Mike Norvell at Florida State. Norvell’s resume this year speaks for itself and the Noles have the best victory this year over LSU. However, there are quite a few other coaches in the ACC that could very easily make a case for the coach of the year crown. Let's take a brief look at a few candidates for this award and what qualifications they might have.

Mike Elko, Duke

Coach Elko started the season off with a big win over Clemson in prime time. Duke competed to the very end of the game with a very good Notre Dame team on the road. Who knows what their record might be now if Riley Leonard had not gotten hurt in that game. Duke’s defense is one of the best in the league and outside of the game against Louisville, the Blue Devils have competed in every game with their second and third string quarterbacks playing most of the snaps. Winning at Duke is extremely difficult regardless of the circumstances but what Elko has done this year in his second year at the helm has been impressive.

Jeff Brohm, Louisville

Scott Satterfield did not leave the cupboard completely bare in Louisville when he left for Cincinnati, but Jeff Brohm came back to his alma mater and brought a lot of impact transfers with him out of the transfer portal. Brohm was able to set his offense up for early success by riding the back of Jawar Jordan and Isaac Garrindo, one of the most potent running back tandems in the league. Louisville defense it's fast and aggressive and can possibly give Florida State high-powered offense a run for its money. In his first year at Louisville, Brohm has set the Cardinals up well for the future and if he can continue to produce on the recruiting front and fill in key players from the transfer portal the Cardinals should be decent moving forward. This year however, in a transition year, he got his team to maximize their potential and currently have a top-10 ranking in the country.

Brent Key, Georgia Tech

While the Yellow Jackets have not been the most consistent team all year, Coach Key has started to turn things around in Atlanta after the Geoff Collins experiment went awry. Beating North Carolina and Miami and being one win away from bowl eligibility, things are looking much better for the Ramblin’ Wreck. Haynes King has proved to be a valuable pickup for the Yellow Jackets and the team appears, on the surface, to be buying in to Brent Key's vision at his alma mater.

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech

Coach Pry, with a win Saturday against NC State, will have doubled his win total from last year and secured a bowl birth in his second year as leader of the Hokies. Coach Pry was able to completely revamp his squad on both sides of the ball, in the middle of the season. Changing the offensive philosophy and tightening up the defense along the way. From starting the season one and four to potentially winning seven games and making a bowl, it would be one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in ACC football history. It will be very interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out, because if Virginia Tech can win out and they back their way into the ACC Championship Game however unlikely it may be, Coach Pry may be a lock for this award.