One of the great unanswered questions of the 2014-15 coaching carousel was where UAB head coach Bill Clark would land. We now have our answer: nowhere.
In an interview with Kevin Scarbinsky of AL.com, Clark revealed he will sit the 2015 season out. Clark had offers, though he declined to say where, but chose to not to take them for two reasons.
First, as a long-time employee in the state of Alabama, Clark becomes fully vested in the state's Retirement Systems of Alabama. UAB is still paying the final two years of his three-year contract that paid him $500,000 a year, so staying put for a year makes much more long-term sense that hopping on a coordinator or head job elsewhere.
Second, in the minute chance that UAB decides to reinstate football, Clark wants to be there to welcome the program back to life. The school has put together an Athletics Assessment Task Force to analyze the decision a previous study made to cancel football. Clark calls it "a glimmer of hope."
"My heart is still at UAB," Clark told AL.com. "I love those people."
In the meantime, Clark will spend the next year in the same way Ed Orgeron, Greg Schiano, and other many other handsomely-paid unemployed coaches use their downtime. He'll speak at coaching clinics, visit other staffs, and may even do some TV. "Not sure how that'll work out," he said, "but I want to stay connected to the game."