Clark Lea rebuffs coaching rumors as 'part of the deal,' vows to stay focused on Vanderbilt momentum

The biggest surprise of the college football season has to be the success of the Vanderbilt football program.

The Commodores, who have been a laughing stock in the Southeastern Conference for the past decade, are 7-1 for the first time since 1941 and seem like real threats to clinch their first ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Programs around the country have certainly been paying attention to the job that head coach Clark Lea has done with the program, as Lea’s name has been floated for job openings at big-time programs such as Penn State, LSU, Florida, Arkansas and Virginia Tech. He however shut those rumors down during Wednesday’s ‘Paul Finebaum Show‘ and vowed to stay focus on Vanderbilt‘s march to the CFP.

“It’s a part of the deal,” Lea said. “I don’t think there’s any coach that doesn’t understand that these things are going to bubble up. In the world we live in now, they can bubble up from anywhere. Just like I asked the team to maintain a focus, they’re looking at me everyday to set a tone and be in my process and show consistency.”

“It’s my responsibility to model that. I came to Vanderbilt to build a championship contending program and I think we’ve done things here and been really intentional about the moves we’ve made and the support that’s grown to keep us on that progression line.”

Vanderbilt could earn fourth SEC victory of season against Texas

Vanderbilt went just 9-27 over the first three seasons of Lea’s tenure, but it is now 14-7 over the past two seasons. It took a little bit of time, but the alum has finally turned the program into what he envisioned it could be when he took the job.

“And yet, there’s also things we need to do to maintain that momentum and trajectory as we move forward,” Lea continued. “That’s where my focus is, and that includes playing the best game we can play in Austin, Texas on Saturday. So, let’s focus on the things we have control over and push this to the vision we’ve had since the very beginning.”

No. 9 Vanderbilt clashes against No. 20 Texas in Austin this weekend with a monstrous opportunity to earn its fourth conference victory of the season. If it can pull off the win over the Longhorns, the Commodores would head into their final three games (two against unranked opponents) with an 8-1 (4-1 record).

“Let’s not let narratives that exist outside the building distract us from that,” Lea finished. “Ultimately when you have the ability to focus on the present and improve the present, everything that comes after is improved. That’s what I ask of the team and that’s what I ask of myself. I appreciate that people are paying attention to our program because it means we’re having success.”