Clark Lea - Defensive Coordinator

[Whiskeyjack]

Absolutely deflating to lose coach Lea. It took so many years to find the right guy for DC. Recruiting wise he was so impactful..horrible timing as well.

Yes. But him leaving now means there's a much better chance he's a viable candidate to replace Kelly in a few years.

 

[IrishRazor82]

This could be a lot worse. It appears Rees is the real deal and he's like 12 years old. I'd be a lot more depressed if Lea wasn't wanted because it'd mean we're not where we are right now... It'd be even more bummed if he was wanted and Rees was looking iffy. At least offense iscovered for the forseeable future.

 

[ThePiombino]

Yes. But him leaving now means there's a much better chance he's a viable candidate to replace Kelly in a few years.

Apparently not, according to LAX...

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[AvesEvo]

One Foot Down says that Lea is going to "split duties between Notre Dame and Vanderbilt over the next few weeks." I don't like that sounds of that as I was Lea dialed in for the upcoming game(s). After the season we have had, it would be a huge punch in the gut if our defense came out unprepared.

 

[IrishFanForever23]

yep

Many feel he'll get the LB gig at ND. Lea could potentially poach Santucci from A&M who has followed Elko everywhere he's gone.

 

[NDBoiler]

One Foot Down says that Lea is going to "split duties between Notre Dame and Vanderbilt over the next few weeks." I don't like that sounds of that as I was Lea dialed in for the upcoming game(s). After the season we have had, it would be a huge punch in the gut if our defense came out unprepared.

Man, you’ve got to be pretty good at your job to that, in what other industry can you do that?. “Yeah, I’m quitting soon, but before I do, I’m going to start working for them while I’m still working for you, and you’re going to still keep paying me my full time salary while I do that.” Clark Lea the boss.

Agree that it doesn’t give me a real good feeling as a fan in preparation for the ACCCG and playoffs. Really need everyone fully locked in and focused on the task at hand.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Don't get me wrong, I know he needs a stop, and I know he deserves a shot.

That said, Vandy just seems like a bad option.

Vandy is by far the worst job in all Power 5 IMO.

Places like Kansas can at least let in whoever they want, and dont have to run an SEC gauntlet every year.

Hes going home, so good for him. I wish him the best, but hes kind of set up to fail, and that makes me sad. Dude deserves better.


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[ulukinatme]

Yes. But him leaving now means there's a much better chance he's a viable candidate to replace Kelly in a few years.

"My son, I can hear you...I'm already here."

 

[Wingman Ray]

Vandy is by far the worst job in all Power 5 IMO.

Places like Kansas can at least let in whoever they want, and dont have to run an SEC gauntlet every year.

Hes going home, so good for him. I wish him the best, but hes kind of set up to fail, and that makes me sad. Dude deserves better.


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He is asking for it. Nonstop to nowhere gig and he has to know it. No way Vandy will ever be competitive with the teams in the SEC. He should have held out for a better gig than that deadman zone.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

"My son, I can hear you...I'm already here."

After the traitor Davie, the Board of Fellows did decree, "Never again will we hire a candidate without prior head coaching experience."

Rees may be the future, but he's gotta make at least one pit stop elsewhere first.

 

[Greenore]

One Foot Down says that Lea is going to "split duties between Notre Dame and Vanderbilt over the next few weeks." I don't like that sounds of that as I was Lea dialed in for the upcoming game(s). After the season we have had, it would be a huge punch in the gut if our defense came out unprepared.

I suppose we will get the answer to "wrong or right" soon. Personally, I'm glad he's sticking around and I hope he gets a Natty ring along with the rest of the team. I think for the next 4 or 5 weeks we are better with Lea than without him.

I remember when CBK was hired away from Cincy. They were having a dream season. I felt a little dirty that they were abandoned... happy that we got him but I felt really bad for the Bearcats. The timing sucked. Too bad the Vandy announcement couldn't have come in early February but it is what it is.

Cheers and Go Irish!!

 

[pumpdog20]

One Foot Down says that Lea is going to "split duties between Notre Dame and Vanderbilt over the next few weeks." I don't like that sounds of that as I was Lea dialed in for the upcoming game(s). After the season we have had, it would be a huge punch in the gut if our defense came out unprepared.

If this is the case, I'd rather he just go to Vandy now. The team doesn't need the distraction of a halfway coach. Lea deserves this opportunity, so I don't mean it in any bad tone. Just move on if you ain't all in is all.

 

[AvesEvo]

If this is the case, I'd rather he just go to Vandy now. The team doesn't need the distraction of a halfway coach. Lea deserves this opportunity, so I don't mean it in any bad tone. Just move on if you ain't all in is all.

To be fair to Lea, there is this quote from Pete Sampson on twitter.

Clark Lea informed Notre Dame’s defensive players on Monday he intends to coach at Notre Dame for the remainder of this season and "all I care about right now is the next three weeks.”

 

[rtrn2glory]

Good for him wish him nothing but the best... Wouldn't be mad if he helps brings us a couple rings before he goes

 

[Irishize]

To be fair to Lea, there is this quote from Pete Sampson on twitter.

Clark Lea informed Notre Dame’s defensive players on Monday he intends to coach at Notre Dame for the remainder of this season and "all I care about right now is the next three weeks.”

I can appreciate that but his new employer will demand some of that time. Here’s an excerpt from vucommodores.com:

Lea will continue to coach the Notre Dame defense through at least Saturday’s title clash with Clemson (3 p.m. CT, ABC). After that he’ll begin to shift his focus toward Vanderbilt and what needs to happen to get the Commodores back into the win column – Vandy has lost 10 games in a row dating to 2019, is 3-18 in its last 21 contests and 5-28 against the SEC since 2017.

 

[Luckylucci]

I’ll be fully pissed if Lea is not locked in for ND’s playoff run. In what frickin universe is it more important to take over a dumpster fire of a team for no reason 2-3 weeks earlier. I seriously hope that is not true.

 

[NDinTEXAS]

Lea does deserve this opportunity but he also deserves a big bag of cash from Notre Dame to stay. Replacing a guy that makes halftime adjustments as well as he does is going to be a monumental task.

 

[AvesEvo]

Lea does deserve this opportunity but he also deserves a big bag of cash from Notre Dame to stay. Replacing a guy that makes halftime adjustments as well as he does is going to be a monumental task.

I hope and assume that ND did everything they could to keep him.

 

[DCDomer]

Sometimes the grass aint always greener just because there's more green on the other side...

Makes you appreciate a guy like Bud Foster who just wanted to coach ball.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Lea does deserve this opportunity but he also deserves a big bag of cash from Notre Dame to stay. Replacing a guy that makes halftime adjustments as well as he does is going to be a monumental task.

This is an antiquated view. ND is paying assistants very competitively from all reports. But even if they paid hi $2.5M per year, that would still be at least half a mil below what Vandy paid Mason (he topped $3M in 2018 I believe). When it comes to HC roles at most P5 programs, money is likely going to be meaningfully better.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Sometimes the grass aint always greener just because there's more green on the other side...

Makes you appreciate a guy like Bud Foster who just wanted to coach ball.

Are you implying that you appreciate Lea less because he wanted to be a head coach?

 

[Junkhead]

This one hurts. But also, I was kinda disappointed in his hire, as I thought it was an easy out. I was wrong. Who knows, I wish him luck at Vandy, and hope he ends up back at ND. Lea or not, beating Clemson, OSU, and Bama in a row is a herculean task at best.

 

[DCDomer]

Are you implying that you appreciate Lea less because he wanted to be a head coach?

No, I just don't think he's making the right decision outside of the pay. And if it doesn't work out, he's probably losing money in the long run anyway.

 

[ulukinatme]

I think the real question is...if he tanks at Vanderbilt, which is a distinct possibility given the job and the division they're in, is he screwed in regards to an ND position in the future? Let's face it, he may be a very good coach, but it might be impossible for someone to be super successful in that position today. He could be hurting his chances at a stable program like ND if he tanks at Vandy.

 

[rtrn2glory]

I agree that I don't think VAndy is a good job for anyone, but with that said me personally I see this as a way that he is setting up his financial future for him and his family and worst case scenario he'll always be able to fall back on the success he's had the last three years and get a good job, almost anywhere he wants as a DC. Best case scenario he does decent for a few years and quickly gets out of town for a better job.

 

[Irishize]

I’ll be fully pissed if Lea is not locked in for ND’s playoff run. In what frickin universe is it more important to take over a dumpster fire of a team for no reason 2-3 weeks earlier. I seriously hope that is not true.

According to Ari Wasserman who covers recruiting for The Athletic, Vandy is on auto-sign for their recruiting classes so there’s not much Lea can do for this current cycle. Vandy relies on G5 kids who want to play in the SEC & get a good education. That’s fine for those particular kids but it doesn’t help the trajectory of the program. As it stands, their classes fall outside the top 60. Lea can change that but not this year on short notice. His best bet for this year, is to wait until after the season when he can scour the transfer portal for the right fits. I think Wasserman said Vandy is down to around 40 scholarship players.

 

[ulukinatme]

According to Ari Wasserman who covers recruiting for The Athletic, Vandy is on auto-sign for their recruiting classes so there’s not much Lea can do for this current cycle. Vandy relies on G5 kids who want to play in the SEC & get a good education. That’s fine for those particular kids but it doesn’t help the trajectory of the program. As it stands, their classes fall outside the top 60. Lea can change that but not this year on short notice. His best bet for this year, is to wait until after the season when he can scour the transfer portal for the right fits. I think Wasserman said Vandy is down to around 40 scholarship players.

Ouch. It will take years to rectify that, just ask USC what a loss of scholarships can do to your program long term. More and more this looks like bad timing, a bad move. I hope coach Lea the best, but this looks like an unwinnable situation especially given the conference.

 

[Rogue219]

Bud Foster is the exception to this profession, not the rule. I admire the guy in many ways for simply wanting to be a DC at one school and maybe knowing that he wasn't ever going to be a fit for a big chair anywhere as an HC. Self awareness is a damn good thing, and we need more of it in our society as far as I'm concerned. Bud Foster, however, isn't the standard.

There are large numbers of these guys who have the ambition to eventually be head coaches. This is not Earth shattering news by any means. It seems very difficult for ND fans to handle this business end of the profession as of late. We really don't know what it is like to have assistant coaching talent in demand, which is sad, because it is quite normal for these guys to move around especially when they are part of staffs that achieve high levels of success.

Chuck Martin and Bob Diaco went on to be head coaches. Mike Sanford took a head coaching job. Autry Denson took an HC job and now Clark Lea. Can we count Matt LaFleur? This is peanuts, guys. Five? Maybe six?

Meyer's 2006 Florida Gator staff saw Mullen, Strong, Holiday and Addazio all eventually become head coaches. They won a National Championship. Together. That's one staff. Kelly has had a handful of guys move on to HC jobs over the years and it doesn't compare to a championship staff having FOUR future head coaches on it. You can safely assume that if Kelly wins the big one, people will come looking for his lieutenants. That's juice worth the squeeze for my dollar as a supporter.

This fan base is longing for a championship and because of that we're slightly out of touch with the idea that seeing assistants move on isn't normal and or is cause of alarm. Clark Lea going to Vanderbilt doesn't serve our desires and wants as a fan base, but the reality is that by this point we should have EXPECTED this to happen and the timing of his alma mater job coming up dictated it was going to. We live in a country that puts an incredible amount of value on being your own boss. Clark Lea answers to an A.D. now. Not a head coach. He is the head coach. Most of these guys crave that. He's 38 years old and about to get his first taste. Some guys never get the shot or have to wait decades.

ND will have a DC next season and we'll move on.

 

[NDRock]

Bud Foster is the exception to this profession, not the rule. I admire the guy in many ways for simply wanting to be a DC at one school and maybe knowing that he wasn't ever going to be a fit for a big chair anywhere as an HC. Self awareness is a damn good thing, and we need more of it in our society as far as I'm concerned. Bud Foster, however, isn't the standard.

There are large numbers of these guys who have the ambition to eventually be head coaches. This is not Earth shattering news by any means. It seems very difficult for ND fans to handle this business end of the profession as of late. We really don't know what it is like to have assistant coaching talent in demand, which is sad, because it is quite normal for these guys to move around especially when they are part of staffs that achieve high levels of success.

Chuck Martin and Bob Diaco went on to be head coaches. Mike Sanford took a head coaching job. Autry Denson took an HC job and now Clark Lea. Can we count Matt LaFleur? This is peanuts, guys. Five? Maybe six?

Meyer's 2006 Florida Gator staff saw Mullen, Strong, Holiday and Addazio all eventually become head coaches. They won a National Championship. Together. That's one staff. Kelly has had a handful of guys move on to HC jobs over the years and it doesn't compare to a championship staff having FOUR future head coaches on it. You can safely assume that if Kelly wins the big one, people will come looking for his lieutenants. That's juice worth the squeeze for my dollar as a supporter.

This fan base is longing for a championship and because of that we're slightly out of touch with the idea that seeing assistants move on isn't normal and or is cause of alarm. Clark Lea going to Vanderbilt doesn't serve our desires and wants as a fan base, but the reality is that by this point we should have EXPECTED this to happen and the timing of his alma mater job coming up dictated it was going to. We live in a country that puts an incredible amount of value on being your own boss. Clark Lea answers to an A.D. now. Not a head coach. He is the head coach. Most of these guys crave that. He's 38 years old and about to get his first taste. Some guys never get the shot or have to wait decades.

ND will have a DC next season and we'll move on.

ND fans aren’t out of touch at all. We understand the game and know assistants come and go. What we are is nervous. We’ve been waiting for this type of sustained success for decades. Now, every coaching change brings about the possibility of another BVG or Tenuta and the whole thing can turn bad. Hopefully Kelly has this thing dialed in so well he knows exactly the type of coach we need.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Any word on who might follow him as a grad transfer or straight up transfer? Has JaMion Franklin decided where he’s going yet? Any others come to mind?