Chris Yandle: Fired at the Top and How Losing Everything Led to Finding Purpose
In the world of college athletics, there's a version of success that looks like a rocket ship. You start at a mid-major program, you grind, you move, you climb. Each stop is bigger than the last. Each title is more impressive. Director. Associate AD. Award winner. You are, by every measure anyone in the industry would use... arriving.
Louisiana Lafayette. Then Marshall. Then Baylor. Then the University of Miami. Then Georgia Tech. That was the career trajectory of our guest on this week’s episode, Chris Yandle. Onwards and upwards.
And then, in 2016, at one of the most prestigious athletic programs in the country... he was fired. There's something nobody tells you about rocket ships. The higher they go... the harder they fall.
For nearly a decade, he poured everything he had into college athletics. He moved his family four times in nine years. He chased titles, bigger programs, bigger platforms. And somewhere along the way, the work stopped being something he did... and became everything he was.
And when it all came apart — and it did come apart — he was left with the hardest question a person can face. Who am I... if I'm not this?
The road back wasn't linear. It never is. There was therapy. There was teaching. There was a PhD. There was a communications job outside of sports. There were handwritten notes slipped into his daughter's lunchbox that became a book titled Lucky Enough: A Year of a Dad's Daily Notes of Encouragement and Life Lessons to His Daughter. And then one day, standing in a Target in Lafayette over Thanksgiving — his phone lit up. The Today Show wanted to do an interview about his notes to his daughter. And then, the Kelly Clarkson Show called.
The comeback was longer than the climb. And it was worth every step.
This episode was produced and written by Brandon Barca and Andy Boggs.
Find us on all of the socials at NLCPod.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPod (https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPod)
X: https://x.com/nlcpod (https://x.com/nlcpod)
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpod (https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpod)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nlcpod (https://www.instagram.com/nlcpod)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod (https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod)
Lucky Enough: A Year of a Dad's Daily Notes of Encouragement and Life Lessons to His Daughter (https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Enough-Encouragement-Lessons-Daughter/dp/1643507354)
Dad pens over 600 inspirational notes for daughter - Today Show (https://www.today.com/video/dad-pens-over-600-inspirational-lunch-notes-for-his-daughter-99954757621)
Dad Writes Daily Lunch Notes To Help Daughter Overcome Bullying - Kelly Clarkson Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTjmS8jGqho)
10 Feb 2026
Matt Olinger: I Chose My Kids Over March Madness (And Don't Regret It)
This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Matt Olinger, a longtime college basketball jack of all trades who has been on the front lines as an assistant coach, Director of Operations, Director of Recruiting and everything else under the sun.
Matt began his career as a manager at Liberty University under Richie McKay and eventually worked his way to an assistant coach position with the Flames. He then joined Bryce Drew’s staff at Vanderbilt as the Director of Basketball Operations, where Boggs worked with him for three seasons, and after his stint with the Commodores, he joined Mike Young’s staff at Virginia Tech as the Director of Recruiting until 2024.
With all of the winter weather affecting games across the south, we wanted to get his perspective on being a Director of Operations at a high major level and what went into operating on the fly in situations out of your control.
However, after reminiscing about harrowing travel in his career and the attitude it takes to be an operations person in a high-stress position, our conversation thoughtfully turned to why he left the business, the mental toll of the 24-hour, 365-day grind of being a college basketball coach, how your identity as a person shifts the moment you leave the industry, the gratitude he has for the mentors and places he has been, and the question a lot of face when we leave the profession - how much am I going to miss this when I’m gone?
Timestamps
02:04 - The overnight bus snowstorm story begins
08:20 - Stuck behind Travis Tritt's tour bus
20:24 - Making the decision to leave coaching
27:50 - The adrenaline rush you can't replace
37:00 - Mental health and the basketball bubble
43:50 - Identity crisis after leaving sports
50:50 - The universe sending signs to leave
59:20 - Telling the kids he's leaving coaching
1:07:40 - March Madness memories
This episode was produced and written by Brandon Barca and Andy Boggs.
Find us on all of the socials at NLCPod.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPod (https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPod)
X: https://x.com/nlcpod (https://x.com/nlcpod)
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpod (https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpod)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nlcpod (https://www.instagram.com/nlcpod)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod (https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod)
3 Feb 2026
Insane Sports Things We'd Pay Money to See, New Sponsors and A Crisis Communication Masterclass
This week on the podcast, we take a shot at our own version of “Half-Baked Ideas” with a segment titled, Insane Sports Things We’d Pay Money To See - which evolved into content ideas we think would kill on Netflix.
We found some new sponsors! Prime Fine and Circus Contracts, step right up. We hope your check is in the mail.
Also, our area of the country experienced a devastating weather event last week, and we watched a crisis communication 101 class happen right before our eyes. And it may be safe to say there were some folks who didn’t stay awake for the lectures. We’ll get into the wrongs and rights of crisis PR.
Timestamps
3:20 - Crisis communications masterclass: Nashville power outage response failures
10:04 - Fining players who aren't employees and the absurdity of college sports
20:17 - Alex Honnold's skyscraper climb on Netflix sparks "Insane Sports Things We'd Pay Money to See"
This episode was produced and written by Brandon Barca and Andy Boggs.
Find us on all of the socials at NLCPod.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPod (https://www.youtube.com/@NLCPod)X: https://x.com/nlcpod (https://x.com/nlcpod)LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpod (https://linkedin.com/company/nlcpod)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nlcpod (https://www.instagram.com/nlcpod)TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod (https://www.tiktok.com/@nlcpod)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
12,790
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
29 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
17 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 42 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
34
Social presence
0
YouTube
72
Engagement
51
Host of No Longer Credentialed?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
