2025/2026 Coaching Carousel

#26
#26
05_never_again said:
You, me, and 99.9% of the population. However a lot of these guys are crazy and need to be "doing something." Even still I can't imagine him being a head coach again though.
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I agree with you.
I’m actually someone that needs to be doing something too so I’d probably be a coach who would keep at it for a long time if my job was secure. However, getting fired in my late 50’s with an obscene buyout and the stress that comes with modern college coaching (NIL, transfer portal, etc.) There’s just a lot of lower stress things to do and plenty of money to live on.
 
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#29
#29
PEPPERJAX said:
I was just curious and googled their salaries. The fan support at Vanderbilt is the worst in the league.
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I think Clark Lea is making Vandy a better job (for him) than VA Tech. Lea isn't leaving the Dores for an ordinary job like the Hokies.

I think he might figure out it is better to be the King in Nashville than the next sacrificial lamb in Blacksburg. He could be on a trajectory to become Vandy's General Neyland if he leads them to bowl games consistently. When 6-6 is good enough, he can really become "the Man". I think he will stay, unless he gets an offer from a "special" program like Notre Dame or one of the elite B1G schools.

He can sell the Kool-Aid because he is loudly leading toasts and drinking it himself.
Clark Lea has been a breathe of fresh air on the West End.
 
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#30
#30
SpookyAction said:
I think Clark Lea is making Vandy a better job (for him) than VA Tech. Lea isn't leaving the Dores for an ordinary job like the Hokies.

I think he might figure out it is better to be the King in Nashville than the next sacrificial lamb in Blacksburg. He could be on a trajectory to become Vandy's General Neyland if he leads them to bowl games consistently. When 6-6 is good enough, he can really become "the Man". I think he will stay, unless he gets an offer from a "special" program like Notre Dame or one of the elite B1G schools.

He can sell the Kool-Aid because he is loudly leading toasts and drinking it himself.
Clark Lea has been a breathe of fresh air on the West End.
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You're probably right about leaving for a better program if the ND job had an opening. He was DC at ND a few years back.
 
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#31
#31
PEPPERJAX said:
You're probably right about leaving for a better program is the ND job had an opening. He was DC at ND a few years back.
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We often speculate that a coach will put down roots and leave their long-term marks on an "also-ran" program, but it rarely happens. I think Clark Lea will stay at Vandy for a while until he gets an offer he can't refuse. He may even be the type to refuse the big offer.
He is a coach I would like my son to play for.
 
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#33
#33
Lea played for Vandy and got his degree there. He’s probably not gonna jump at the first step up.

He could leave, but it would have to be a program like Penn State with Franklin offering him megabucks.

He’s figured out that he can win at Vandy. They don’t have to be a bottom dweller and more power to them. They won’t ever have the resources to compete for SEC titles, but they can make it to bowl games regularly if they put the needed effort into the program.
 
#34
#34
SpookyAction said:
I think Clark Lea would see VATech as a step down. It really is in 2025.
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VT is not a step down from Vandy, but Lea is probably going to be in line to get a better job than VT at some point, if he wants it.

I can see Lea being the type of guy to refuse a lot of offers and then ultimately take a "can't pass up" opportunity when he gets exactly what he wants, kind of like Venables. He's from Nashville and played at Vandy.
 
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#35
#35
I think VATech is a step down just comparing revenue in the revenue sharing and NIL years.
I think it is a step down from Vandy today and will be going forward. I wouldn't have said that when Justin Fuente's tenure began in Blacksburg. They fired him for a couple of 5-win seasons. I think they start sliding off the cliff. They are going to be on the poor side of bigtime CFB.
... and I 100% agree coaching Vandy is meaningful to Clark Lea. I really respect that.

What the top 75 college sports programs are worth

That info is "athletic dept.", not football specific, but I think it is a more important metric today. Vandy has more resources going forward than the Hokies. Their SEC portion and deep pocket networks is stepping up enough to stay ahead of middle of the road programs in the ACC and BigXII. They will have more everything.

They can even afford to keep Clark Lea right now if suitors line up. They are making every effort to cater to him and the football program.
 
#36
#36
05_never_again said:
VT is not a step down from Vandy, but Lea is probably going to be in line to get a better job than VT at some point, if he wants it.

I can see Lea being the type of guy to refuse a lot of offers and then ultimately take a "can't pass up" opportunity when he gets exactly what he wants, kind of like Venables. He's from Nashville and played at Vandy.
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Never knew he played at Vandy. Clemson and UF job could be open.
 
#37
#37
SpookyAction said:
I think Clark Lea is making Vandy a better job (for him) than VA Tech. Lea isn't leaving the Dores for an ordinary job like the Hokies.

I think he might figure out it is better to be the King in Nashville than the next sacrificial lamb in Blacksburg. He could be on a trajectory to become Vandy's General Neyland if he leads them to bowl games consistently. When 6-6 is good enough, he can really become "the Man". I think he will stay, unless he gets an offer from a "special" program like Notre Dame or one of the elite B1G schools.

He can sell the Kool-Aid because he is loudly leading toasts and drinking it himself.
Clark Lea has been a breathe of fresh air on the West End.
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It might be sacrilege to suggest but it really wouldn't surprise me if by the end of the 4 year period Vandy isn't the tougher out than Bama. Heck, they already might be.
 
#39
#39
RandomUTfan said:
It might be sacrilege to suggest but it really wouldn't surprise me if by the end of the 4 year period Vandy isn't the tougher out than Bama. Heck, they already might be.
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Alabama is ranked just ahead of Vandy this week. Bama plays Georgia, while Vandy plays another nobody.

assuming Bama loses to Georgia, Vandy will roll into Tuscaloosa as the higher ranked team when they play the week after.

things I never had on my CFB bingo card.
 
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#40
#40
Gundy fired by Ok St.

Gotta admit, I expected them to keep him until the end of the season as he's an alumni and longtime coach.

A $20 million buyout for the Cowboys is a great deal of money. Gotta think they might have been better dumping that into an NIL fund.
 
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#43
#43
Clark Lea’s fortunes at Vandy improved when he brought in Jerry Kill’s crew from NMSU and got Jerry as an advisor. I don’t think he walks away from that this year.
 
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#46
#46
05_never_again said:
VT is not a step down from Vandy, but Lea is probably going to be in line to get a better job than VT at some point, if he wants it.

I can see Lea being the type of guy to refuse a lot of offers and then ultimately take a "can't pass up" opportunity when he gets exactly what he wants, kind of like Venables. He's from Nashville and played at Vandy.
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lol VT is a job just like Okie State and UCLA. Once trending programs that got gobbled up and spit out in this NIL era….

Those jobs lost their luster. There is absolutely no reason a coach leaving a SEC job on the up trend would be considered “stepping up” to an ACC program not named Clemson, Miami, or Florida State.

In this era, those schools are simply not destinations for recruits like they used to and it’s because the money isn’t competitive enough to not look elsewhere.

Historically, Vandy to Virginia Tech or UCLA type move was stepping up. Not anymore.
 
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#48
#48
JMSqb11 said:
lol VT is a job just like Okie State and UCLA. Once trending programs that got gobbled up and spit out in this NIL era….

Those jobs lost their luster. There is absolutely no reason a coach leaving a SEC job on the up trend would be considered “stepping up” to an ACC program not named Clemson, Miami, or Florida State.

In this era, those schools are simply not destinations for recruits like they used to and it’s because the money isn’t competitive enough to not look elsewhere.

Historically, Vandy to Virginia Tech or UCLA type move was stepping up. Not anymore.
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So weird the first three jobs to open up are so unattractive. And I've seen some of those early coaching hot boards for OSU. Few on there are realistic. There are a couple of coordinators I could see doing it for a bigger paycheck.
 
#49
#49
RandomUTfan said:
So weird the first three jobs to open up are so unattractive. And I've seen some of those early coaching hot boards for OSU. Few on there are realistic. There are a couple of coordinators I could see doing it for a bigger paycheck.
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Correct. I would not be shocked if Lincoln Riley eventually looks elsewhere and cashes in on success at USC if he can’t going.

Eventually, years of that travel schedule in conference will cause damage to those programs. Oregon can at least pay players to deal with it.
 
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