Haven’t been on here in some time! A Family member of mine is a booster at Vanderbilt (yes they have boosters) that told me Mason was fired 8 hours before it was announced. I said no shot after having the female kicker all over the news.
He says Will Healy has several ties to the school and has already expressed interest. He also gives Austin Peay money and is obviously a big Healy supporter that has had several long discussion with Vandy’s new AD.
I don’t want this to turn into a “Will he go” debate. I’m sure most of you realize 3.5 million dollars and job security while living in Nashville is too good to turn down if offered.
Sounds like they will go for a couple home run hires behind the scene and then choose between Healy, Chadwell, and Clark Lea if they miss.
My question for everyone here… is Healy still sought after the same way here as he was a year ago? I know this is a difficult year and he’s lost to a few good teams, but his recruiting looks to be average and the on field product isn’t lighting the world on fire. Just seems like Vanderbilt could do much better, no?
Healy would take it no doubt. He’s been here two years and you don’t turn down that opportunity.
I said it in another thread, I’d be shocked if he got it. We’re still trending up but how can you hire a .500 CUSA coach in the SEC? Maybe Vandy could get away with it because they don’t have the scrutiny but I’d think they’d want someone whose high water mark at the FBS level is more than 7 wins.
I still think we’re trending up but there are better options out there, unless they think the Ra-Ra stuff will put people in the seats. If he fails though it’s an indefensible hire.
For the record I’m a big Healy fan but we are flat this year. If they do take the chance I look forward to the trip to Nashville to watch us play. That’s a fun town.
If he goes he goes. It is probably at least a $12 million contract because Vanderbilt gets big SEC TV money. I would love to see what Healy could do with more time at Charlotte. He is a great promoter of the program, he seems to get guys excited to play, and appears to have good character.
This season I’m starting to question his loyalty to the same coaches he has known for years opposed to finding the most qualified coach for the job, his judgment as an XO’s coach, and the discipline within the program when it comes to handling COVID contact tracing.
If we get a coach poached from us I wish we would get at least a conference championship or a 10 win season out of the deal.
First off, no offense to OP, but this seems incredibly silly to me. No way based on record and trajectory alone would any competent AD at an SEC school hire Healy. I think Healy has the potential to get there some day, but he certainly hasn’t earned it yet. End of last season made 10x more sense than right now tbh.
Second, does his culture fit at Vanderbilt? When I think Vandy, I think private, stuck up. I don’t know that much about their fanbase personally, but I think wine and cheese football spectators not rabid fans. Will they support a culture of Club Lit (or whatever the next rendition is called) and rap music blaring in a dance club in the locker room? Maybe they will, but Healy doesn’t scream good fit to me at a place like Vandy, even though I personally love the enthusiasm part of his program.
If Healy can get the offer, I wish him the best. However, their AD just got her job in May and this is probably her first big sport hire, and maybe her first HC hire for any sport. I don’t care enough to look it up. I am not sure you fire a 5-7ish SEC coach and replace him with a 5-7ish C-USA coach. Healy is ahead of the curve when it comes to running a program where you value and respect players, but not there yet on getting results on the field. I say AD Candice Lee looks for a safer hire to protect her position. She hasn’t earned the right to take chances yet.
Just so we are clear, the last time OP posted was about Healy and potential job searches. He allegedly had information confirming serious candidacy last time too - only place I ever saw that - so either OP has an in, or is fully of baloney. To be fair, he did predict his candidacy for Vandy a year ago…
“Thoughts on him interviewing for Missouri and Mississippi State positions after year 1? (My co-worker is a former State player and low level booster… can confirm he interviewed). Realistically, do you all believe he will stay another offseason if you win 8+ games? I know he was raised a Vanderbilt fan (Uncle stared there) and they’ll likely have an opening next offseason. South Carolina could also kick the tires?”
If it made sense last year (Ole Miss was going to Hire him before Kiffin came crawling) then why not this year?
Vanderbilt has to take the high risk gambles - and this would certainly qualify.
Is Healy still as high on all your boards or is the polish starting to fade? His recruiting concerns me a bit because he had the #1 class for four straight years from UTC to Austin Peay.
Franklin was able to coach there and he doesn’t fit the Vandy culture. Now Franklin didn’t have a Club Lit type of thing, but definitely not the straight and narrow type.
I think will is an ideal candidate for a vandy. I would be stunned if we are able to keep him, and I wish him well if he goes.
I get it, W/L is the most important thing in coaching hires, and will really hasn’t done a whole lot of winning.
That said if you peel it back a step further and look at what he really has done in 3 years at Austin Peay and 1.5 years here, it really is miraculous. We were probably the worst job in FBS ball before his arrival. We now have actual expectations.
Analyzing Healy on Wins and losses solely is leaving off the most substantial piece of the ice burg. And I gotta be honest and say I think a lot of the folks here downplaying his performance are either salty that he’s already looking elsewhere, or truly just don’t understand how good he’s been.
The good news is, we still employ the guy who found him.
Kiffin won two CUSA titles and was primed for another, he was always going to leave at some point. He also has national name recognition. Come crawling? If Ole Miss didn’t approach him they are fools. I find your version of events there to be suspect.
Healy may get to that level but he is not there yet. That unfortunately still applies. Once again not a knock I’m a big Healy fan, I almost want to use the Darth Vader quote “You are no Jedi yet”, 7-6 then 2-3 with 4 COVID cancellations will probably not get you a SEC gig.
If it does best wishes to him, we’ll be better than when he arrived due to his recruiting and culture but have yet to see the payoff in Ws.
I don’t think it makes sense & if I were a fan of any P5 program I would be very skeptical of an AD hiring a coach with his record. On one hand I don’t want to see him go because I’m worried about what it will do to our recruiting classes & the continuity of the program. On the other hand is it really good for recruiting if this circus is going to pop up every year in late November. I like the energy & the talent that he is bringing in but so far I’m not sure the on field performance is worth wondering if he’s going to stay or go at the end of every mediocre season.
An SEC school hiring Will is a much bigger gamble than when we hired him and it was a big gamble for us even as one of the worst FBS programs. Jury is still out for sure. Limited FBS experience, limited track record, no big wins etc. If he goes he goes. I don’t want him to leave but I’m not crushed if he does.
