Robbie Weinstein of Vandy 247 Sports is reporting along with other sources, that Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Clark Lea is expected to become the next Head Football Coach at Vanderbilt.
Lea has done a stellar job as DC of the Irish and is a Montgomery Bell and Vanderbilt graduate and played at VU.
I don’t know what I think completely about the Lea hire off the bat, but I’m open to giving him a shot. I like the fact that we are hiring a coach before signing day so we can sign as many of our commitments as possible including high 3 star cornerback John Howse IV, who was on the fence after Derek Mason was fired.
I’ve heard an interview with Lea, he’s a serious guy, who cares a lot about the academic side and comes highly recommended by Notre Dame writers and head coach Brian Kelly, though I’m not a huge fan of Kelly, but the Irish are 10-0 right now, so it’s hard to knock the results. Lea has a major task this Saturday stopping Clemson, so that could tell us more.
I think I like the hire, but not positive. He looks like a good fit, but he has no head coaching resume, so it’s hard to project whether he can start getting us back to bowl games and being a highly competitive team like a Northwestern in the Big Ten. That’s what we’re gunning for. Will certainly be pulling for him and advocating him. Will have more later.