As the college football world descends on Nashville for SEC media days, the hometown team has made a splash. Vanderbilt announced Monday that it is extending head coach Clark Lea. The Music City native played for the school and is entering his third season at the helm for Commodores.
“Vanderbilt is home, it is such an honor for me to lead our football program,” Lea said in a statement. “The only way that we accomplish the mission we have set forth for Vanderbilt football is with the vision and support from chancellor Diermeier and [athletic director] Candice Lee. To have them acknowledge the progress we’ve made to this point, and to commit to seeing us push further on our journey means everything to me.
“Like everyone who is a part of our team, I will work to earn it every day, and recognize the great responsibility I have with the incredible opportunity and support I’ve been given. I also want to thank the members of our program, both student-athletes and staff. Their hard work and sacrifice is what allows for progress in our quest to build a program that makes all of Vanderbilt and Nashville proud.”
Vanderbilt is a private school and does not release salary figures for its coaches, and is not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain that information. ESPN reported Lea’s initial deal paid him $3.75 million annually. Lea’s representative did not return a request for comment.
Vandy is perennially the toughest job in the SEC, if not all of Power 5 considering its stringent academic requirements and the teams it has to recruit against and play within the league. He has a 7–17 overall and, after going 0–8 in conference play in 2021, improved slightly to 2–6 with wins over Florida and Kentucky.
Anything in that ballpark for a salary number is easily at the bottom rung of coaching salaries in the SEC. It’s no secret that schools in the league spend big on college football with two coaches in the $10 million annual club (Nick Saban and Kirby Smart) and two others in the $9 million club (Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly). But the fact that Lea is getting an extension of any kind shows a continued commitment from the Vandy administration towards football.
The school is in the midst of a massive fundraising drive to raise $100 of a total $300 million investment towards athletics in which football will receive a standalone operating facility and upgrades to its stadium, long regarded as the worst in the conference. It’s clear that continued investment in Lea is also part of the package. Lea is scheduled to speak to the media on Tuesday.
