re: What I’m hearing (coaching search)

If they mesh. Durkin may not be happy if he's passed over. Not that I wouldn't prefer him as DC right now but I want the HC to freely pick their assistants.

Why does everyone want Sumrall? Quick look at his bio and he's 1-6 against ranked opponents. He basically just plays nobody schools so why do we think he'll actually be a good coach? Asking honestly btw.

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Quick look at his bio and he's 1-6 against ranked opponents.

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yeah but the only one you could argue would be the army game. The others are cannon fodder. They did beat the leader of the ACC this year. 2 of those 6 losses were to the Lane Train but his defenses held them pretty well until they ran out of bodies.

I am not advocating one way or another but I could pick apart your leader if you put it out there. Also notice a low post count for the time being on the board. So why don't you pony up who you are pulling for...

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Quick look at his bio and he's 1-6 against ranked opponents. He

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I'm pretty lukewarm on a Sumrall hire (though I'd be perfectly fine with a Sumrall with Durkin as DC hire). But judging him based on top 25 record when 4 of the 6 teams he has lost to were SEC or big 12 teams with tremendously more talent is super weird.

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Why does everyone want Sumrall?

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Some on this board have said that he will be able to recruit well in the state because he already knows the high school coaches. There may be something to that but if he is really a decent recruiter then you would think he would have recruited some defensive players out of the portal to replace the seniors Tulane lost. Just saying

You say all this but at the same time you think Clark Lea is worth the gamble…umm, ok.

"If anyone is worth an outright gamble it's Lea."

Uh sorry "outright gamble" but that is not a positive endorsement..

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And without DP, what would his win-loss record be?

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I don't get the Lea hate. You guys all want a "CEO coach" but then subsequently punish a guy for making the best CEO move in college football by bringing in Pavia/Kill/Beck. The part that nobody wants to mention is that none of those guys were hot commodities, otherwise why did they end up at Vanderbilt? Any other SEC team or West Coast team could have recruited the NM State, but they didn't.

The other part to the equation is that Pavia is playing CONSIDERABLY better at Vanderbilt than he ever did at NM State. He has actually elevated his play in the SEC against significantly better competition. Is Lea's coaching/mentality any part of that? Kill and Beck lost to a lot of crap teams over two seasons at NM State with Pavia at QB, so why would they get all the credit? You'd think they'd go undefeated playing NM State's schedule with Pavia at QB.

When you look deeper at Vanderbilt you'll see that the team was literally winless in Derek Mason's final year before Lea was hired. They went 0-9 in 2020. Lea did what was expected which was bring the team to 2 wins, and then 5 wins in year two (ie: noticeable improvement). The only wart I see is the fall back to 2 wins in 2023, but apart from that it has been year over year improvement which is what you want to see at a program like Vanderbilt that can't just recruit a ton of elite talent overnight.

Lea wouldn't be my top choice, but its entirely possible that it just took him a few seasons to hit his stride. He has good pedigree - most people aren't aware, but he is a Mike Elko protegee who followed him up through ~3 different jobs.

Blame his kickers but yeah… not a very inspiring performance.

Prior to this season, Brohm has been a P4 head coach for 8 season and he has lost at least 4 games all 8 seasons. And he now has 3 losses in 2025, with 3 games left. We know exactly what Brohm is. He is a coach who is going to lose at least 4 games every season. He has spent the last 9 football seasons proving it.

Hard. Pass.