In Reply to: posted by mh on October 26, 2025 at 12:52:11
Won-lost record or place in conference is an overly simplistic method of evaluating a coach's record. One has to look at where the program was when he took over, the strength of schedule and the margins of defeat for example. This is especially the case for Lea. He took over a program which was a disaster going 5-28 the previous four seasons and started in 2021 when Covid was an important factor. One doesn't build a program like this overnight. Last season was a huge breakthrough despite what you consider a poor 11th place finish in conference. Look at these games.
They played four top-10 teams:
#1 Alabama
#5 Texas
#7 Tennessee
#8 Missouri
They beat Alabama, Vanderbilt's first victory against them in 40 years, lost to Texas and Missouri by only three and Tenn by 13.
So even though by your definition that it wasn't a successful season, most would consider it an outstanding coaching job taking a historically poor program to a level which they could compete with anybody. This year is certainly not an aberration or a "one-hit wonder". It's the culmination of a process of building a program.