Eubanks, Farrell, Mathis join Yellow Jackets ahead of spring ball
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech football has officially added Darius Eubanks, Brendan Farrell and Alex Mathis to its staff, head coachBrent Key announced on Friday.
“It’s exciting to welcome Darius, Brendan and Alex to the Georgia Tech football family,” Key said. “As I’ve said many times before, it’s vitally important to me that our staff is made up of not just great coaches and recruiters, but great people and leaders. These three men certainly fit the bill. They’ll be a big part of the development of our linebackers, our special teams and game management, and our recruiting operations. We’re thrilled to have them here.”
DARIUS EUBANKS – LINEBACKERS
Georgia native and NFL veteran Darius Eubanks joins Georgia Tech’s staff as linebackers coach.
Eubanks comes to The Flats from his alma mater, Georgia Southern, where he spent the last two seasons, first as secondary coach in 2023, then as linebackers coach and run game coordinator in 2024. His ultra-successful stint at Georgia Southern was highlighted by coaching two all-conference linebackers in 2024 – including the Sun Belt Conference’s leading tackler and Defensive Player of the Year, Marques Watson-Trent – and helping the Eagles finish among the top 30 nationally in interceptions behind all-conference safety T.J. Smith in 2023.
A Thomson, Ga. native, Eubanks played linebacker and defensive back at Georgia Southern from 2009-12, starting in 50-of-52 games and racking up 260 tackles and 22 passes defended for his collegiate career. He was a first-team all-Southern Conference selection as a senior and helped lead the Eagles to three NCAA Division I FCS semifinals appearances in his four seasons at Georgia Southern.
He went on to play four seasons (2013-16) in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Following the conclusion of his NFL career, Eubanks got into coaching as a defensive line graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2017. He then went on to spend three seasons at Samford, first as safeties coach in 2018 and 2019, then as defensive backs coach and co-special teams coordinator during the Covid-19-delayed spring 2021 season.
He moved to Atlanta and the FBS ranks in 2021 as safeties coach at Georgia State, before one season as defensive backs coach at Liberty (2022). His experience also includes a fellowship as a defensive assistant (ILB/OLB) with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in 2024.
In all, Eubanks has coached five all-conference honorees, an FCS all-American, three players that ranked in the top 15 nationally in interceptions and five that have gone on to play in the NFL. He has also helped lead his teams to bowl games in all four seasons of his coaching career at the FBS level.
Eubanks graduated from Georgia Southern in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in sport management.
BRENDAN FARRELL – SENIOR STRATEGIST FOR SPECIAL TEAMS AND GAME MANAGEMENT
With more than 20 years of experience coaching special teams at the college and National Football League levels, Brendan Farrell joins Georgia Tech’s staff as senior strategist for special teams and game management.
Farrell most recently spent five seasons (2019-23) as assistant special teams coach for the Miami Dolphins. From 2020-22, Miami was one of only two NFL teams to block at least one punt in three-straight seasons and, in 2019, the Dolphins scored a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on a fake field goal that was named the NFL Play of the Year at the annual NFL Honors ceremony.
During his time in Miami, he helped lead the Dolphins to four-straight winning seasons (2020-23) for the first time since 2000-03 and to consecutive playoff berths (2022-23) for the first time since 2000-01.
Prior to his five-season stint with the Dolphins, Farrell spent six seasons as a special teams analyst at Alabama (2013-18), where he worked with Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key for three seasons (2016-18), when Key served as the Crimson Tide’s offensive line coach. In Farrell’s six seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide had one of the top special teams units in the nation. Alabama led the country in special teams touchdowns in 2015 (six) and in net punting average in 2013 (42.4 avg.) and 2014 (44.7), and topped the Southeastern Conference in total special teams metrics in 2013 and 2018.
Special teams standouts during Farrell’s time with the Tide included punter J.K. Scott (Ray Guy Award finalist, first-team all-American, two-time first-team all-SEC selection and fifth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 2018 NFL Draft), punter Cody Mandell (first-team all-SEC honoree) and returner Christion Jones (SEC Special Teams Player of the Year).
Alabama won two national championships, played in four national title games, made five College Football Playoff appearances and won four SEC championships during Farrell’s six-year stint in Tuscaloosa.
Before joining the staff at Alabama, Farrell was assistant head coach/special teams coordinator/tight ends coach at Northwestern State for four seasons (2009-12). NSU ranked third nationally in punt returns (18.2 avg.) in 2012, led the Southland Conference in kickoff returns (25.1 avg.) and field goal percentage (100%) in 2011, and ranked second in the Southland in kickoff coverage (19.9 avg.) in ‘11.
In addition to his six seasons at Alabama, Farrell also spent three seasons in the SEC at LSU (2006-08), where he held a special teams and offensive quality control position, working with the Tigers’ special teams and tight ends. LSU’s kicker (Colt David) and punter (Patrick Fisher) were both first-team all-conference selections and the Tigers won the SEC and national championships in 2007.
Farrell began his coaching career as special teams coordinator and running backs coach at Wayne State from 2002-03, followed by two seasons as a graduate assistant at Middle Tennessee (2004-05).
As a player, Farrell was a linebacker and safety at Notre Dame from 1996-99, where he double-majored in English and history. He earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Wayne State.
He and his wife, Kasia, have three sons – T.J., Gabriel and Patrick.
ALEX MATHIS – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING
With deep ties to the Georgia high school ranks and experience as a top recruiter at the Power Four level, Alex Mathis joins Georgia Tech football as the Yellow Jackets’ executive director of recruiting.
Mathis comes to Tech from UCF, where he spent three years, first as assistant director of player personnel (2022-23), before being promoted to executive director of recruiting (2023-24). In his time at UCF, he helped the Knights land three top-40 recruiting classes (No. 37 in 2022, No. 38 in 2023 and No. 34 in 2024, according to 247Sports).
Before moving to the collegiate level, Mathis spent eight years as a coach and recruiting coordinator at three Georgia high schools – Fredrica Academy (assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator – 2015-19), Brantley County H.S. (recruiting coordinator and running backs coach – 2020) and Glynn Academy (recruiting coordinator and RB coach – 2021). He helped coach Fredrica to a state championship in 2018.
A Waycross, Ga. native, Mathis holds a bachelor’s degree from College of Coastal Georgia and a master’s from Georgia Southern.
