The second Vanderbilt decided to move on from Derek Mason a few weeks back the rumors and speculation began to turn about Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea being a potential replacement.
Lea graduated from Vanderbilt where he was a fullback and according to FootballScoop.com, interviewed for the head coach opening there on Sunday.
Per sources with direct knowledge, Vanderbilt on Sunday interviewed Notre Dame defensive coordinator and former Commodores player Clark Lea for its opening. The school also has already discussed the opening and made plans to discuss the vacancy with Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, Charlotte’s Will Healy and Army’s Jeff Monken. Alabama running backs coach Charles Huff and a list of others have expressed interest in the job, sources told FootballScoop.com.
The article also mentions the names Jeff Fisher and Bill O’Brien as a pair of former NFL head coaches who have also expressed interest in the Vanderbilt opening.
It’s an interesting case and I’m not at all surprised that Lea has interviewed for the position, but is this the job he’d leave Notre Dame for?
The thing to remember with a job like Vanderbilt is that for someone like Lea, this might be his only shot at a head coaching job if things don’t go well. What’s worth remembering is just how bad the situation is at Vanderbilt is right now as they’ve won just three of their last 20 games and seem to be going nowhere fast.
Will he get offered the job is one question and if offered, would he take it?
I still tend to think he can find a better Power Five situation but if Lea truly thinks he can turn things around at Vanderbilt, we’ve seen that job be a launching point recently with James Franklin going from it to taking Penn State to a 2016 Big Ten Championship.