Garrett Altman, Vanderbilt QBs coach, to remain for bowl despite taking new job

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TAMPA — The day before Vanderbilt football was set to travel to the ReliaQuest Bowl, its quarterbacks coach took a new job.

Garrett Altman is set to become the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State, Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea confirmed Dec. 28. The move was also announced by the Red Wolves on Dec. 26. But Altman will still coach the 12th-ranked Commodores (10-2) in their game against Iowa (8-4) on Dec. 31 (11 a.m. CT, ESPN) before starting his new gig.

Arkansas State (7-6) finished the season with a 34-28 win over Missouri State on Dec. 18 in the Xbox Bowl. The Red Wolves, who compete in the Sun Belt Conference, are coached by former Tennessee football coach Butch Jones.

Altman joined the staff in 2024, one of several staffers to come over from New Mexico State. With both the Aggies and Commodores, he worked with Diego Pavia, who was the Heisman runner-up in 2025. Altman was a graduate assistant at TCU prior to working with New Mexico State.

“I’m so thrilled for him,” Lea said. “Part of my role is, you hire people, you recruit people, you see them grow up, and then they leave. And those can be sad things, but they’re really happy things. I’m so happy for Garrett. I appreciate him, I’m grateful for the work he’s put in the last two years to invest in this program. I’m excited to watch him go ascend. And I’m sure big things are ahead.”

Lea told Altman to do what was best for him when it came to the decision whether or not to coach in the bowl. Altman decided to remain with Vanderbilt and help the team finish the season.

“Operationally, we’re going to be fine no matter what,” Lea said. “But if it made sense for him to be here and to be a part of this, I would want him to be part of it, but I wanted that to be good for him. He’s got a big job ahead of him, too and that’s going to take a lot of energy. Unfortunately, the calendar doesn’t wait. … But I appreciate the fact that he wanted to be here. I appreciate the fact that he’s here with us, and we’ll enjoy having him as part of this program one last time.”

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Garrett Altman remaining with Vanderbilt football for bowl game

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