Vanderbilt officially announces Notre Dame DC Clark Lea as its new head coach
The Vanderbilt Commodores have found their man, and have hired Notre Dame DC Clark Lea to be their new head coach.
Lea, who has been with the Fighting Irish since 2017, is a former Vanderbilt fullback and Nashville native, so he has close ties to the program.
Vanderbilt officially announced Lea as the replacement for Derek Mason on Monday night with the following tweet:
He's back on West End.
⚓️ @Coach_Lea#VandyUnited | #AnchorDown
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) December 15, 2020
Vanderbilt AD Candice Storey Lee issued a statement in a press release:
“Clark Lea is the leader we trust to continue the challenging but exciting work that will elevate the Vanderbilt football program to unprecedented heights,” Lee said. “He embodies the demonstrated commitment to success, the integrity and the strategic thinking that it takes to build a winning football program, and help our student-athletes reach their full potential. He understands the important role that athletics plays in the life of a vibrant university, and that outstanding scholarly pursuits and top-notch athletics are integral parts of the Vanderbilt experience.
“It was clear that the college football world is aware of the tremendous value proposition Vanderbilt holds, and that was reflected by the deep pool of talent that showed an interest in this position. We are so excited to be introducing him as our head football coach because we are confident that he can build upon our successes on and off the field. Coach Lea will be an incredible asset to our university and community.
“I want to extend Vanderbilt’s deepest thanks and appreciation to Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, athletics director Jack Swarbrick and head coach Brian Kelly for their cooperation during this process. It is very important to all of us, and especially Clark, that he be able to fulfill his obligations with the Notre Dame program and its student-athletes as they prepare to face Clemson in the ACC title game for a berth in the College Football Playoff. The dedication and loyalty demonstrated by Clark exemplify his character, and what he will be for the Vanderbilt program.”
How will Lea fare in Nashville? He’ll have to hit the ground running with the Early Signing Period starting Wednesday.
I hear Dave Yost is looking for a job, maybe hire him to be the Vandy OC, he can even bring in Gary Pinkel as a consultant. Let the fun begin.
Why give Vandy a chance to beat Mizzou?!
If Girl Name Lee has any success he’ll be gone in a few years, ala Franklin. Hiring Pinkel would have been a perfect “destination” job hire.
Not sure how another defensive minded coach is going to change anything for a Vandy. Sounds like a Derek Mason 2.0 hire
…unless … Vandy is going to pour some major money into their facilities.
And for the record, I have nothing but respect for Mason. I don’t really see how he was expected to win.
Mason will land in a good DC spot somewhere.
“It was clear that the college football world is aware of the tremendous value proposition Vanderbilt holds, and that was reflected by the deep pool of talent that showed an interest in this position.“
Who is she referring to? She seems delusional.
I think its a form letter that the NCAA has on file. Some writer here on SDS pretty much gave the same speech about the opening at South Alabama, calling it very attractive spot for HC prospects. Sure.
Pu$$y school for football. Give it up already. Stop stealing money from Conference
Vandy can compete in football, the question is “at what level”? Year in, year out in the SEC, probably not. 3-1 most years in non-conference play tied to a 2-6, 3-5, and an occasional 4-4 conference record. Once a decade they’ll roll out a 5-3 conference and an undefeated non-conference schedule. Is that good enough? Who knows? It should be! Its certainly better than what’s happened the past few years.
They would obviously be better off in a G-5 conference, either the American or C-USA. Navy, SMU, Tulsa, and Tulane have experienced various levels of success in the AAC and there’s no reason to believe that a “recommitted” Vandy couldn’t do the same. Losing that SEC money would obviously be an issue, but with a conference move, an seriously upgraded stadium at Vandy would be comparable to Gerald Ford at SMU (roughly the same size as Vandy’s). Plus, the ‘Dores could compete in the AAC.
I doubt that this will happen, but if this latest hire doesn’t work, I would have to think that it could become a topic of serious discussion. Remember, Georgia Tech, Tulane, and even Sewanee were once members of the SEC. They all left because they felt that they were no long able to compete.
The SEC probably wouldn’t have an issue with this because they’ve currently got a strong hold on the Nashville “footprint” and it would give them an opportunity to get an expansion upgrade in either division, depending on which direction they chose to look.
Just some food for thought
They will never be able to match the money they get for being an SEC punching bag. Money spent obviously on things other than football. They will most likely never leave voluntarily and honestly I dont think the East division minds it so much. But its pretty clear that they would be a much better fit in the AAC, the top G5 conference. Less money.
Georgia tech left because they disagreed about practice of over recruiting then withdrawing scholarships.
Yeah God forbid a school does things the right way and has some semblance of student-athletes vs the way most SEC schools are – football factories pretending to be universities
UsmcDawg, just shut up. Georgia is overrated in football, sucks at basketball, average in baseball. Do I hate Georgia? No I don’t, just calling a spade a spade. I think all that barking has gone to your head and you are delusional.
No disrespect to their new HC, but she could have ended her speech after about the fourth sentence with “and blah blah blah blah”, we’re done here”.