The dark-horse Michigan coaching candidate more people need to talk about

Well, as Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham are begrudgingly crossed off Michigan's list of head coach candidates, the Wolverines have to keep searching the world of college football for their next leader.

However, ignoring connections to their current teams and contract extensions signed within the last year, Joel Klatt thinks he knows exactly who the Michigan Wolverines should target next as their replacement for Sherron Moore.

Clark Lea. Yes, the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores, who just signed a six-year contract extension in November.

Joel Klatt includes Clark Lea in Michigan HC list

Putting Lea's contract extension aside. Ignoring the fact that Lea played football for the Commodores. Klatt believes that the Wolverines should go after the Vanderbilt leader for their next head coach.

Since taking over at Vanderbilt in 2021, Lea has only led the Commodores to a 26-35 overall record. However, the last two seasons were a pair of the most memorable (and winning) seasons in program history.

This season, the Commodores finished with a 10-2 overall record and are flying toward an appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Last year, Vanderbilt finished 7-6 overall, including a 35-27 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Birmingham Bowl.

Lea has turned the Vanderbilt program around and has done so without a scandal or any drama. While Michigan isn't exactly lacking in wins, the Wolverines need a drama-free era for their entire athletic department, and Lea could deliver that.

The biggest hangup on hiring Lea is the fact that he played for the Commodores from 2002-04, and Vanderbilt was the first program to give him a head coaching role. He loves that program, and it's really hard to pull a head coach from a team they love (just look at Dillingham).