How Rupert Murdoch Changed Sports Media Forever
Clint Dowdle became the latest notable agent to depart CAA’s coaching division for WME, a source with knowledge of the move told Front Office Sports.
Dowdle left Kansas State, where he served as an associate athletic director for CAA in 2016. Dowdle helped negotiate several major contracts, including Marcus Freeman’s elevation to head coach at Notre Dame after Brian Kelly departed for LSU after the 2021 regular season.
“He’s extremely trustworthy and professional, and he’s very, very honest,” Utah State head coach Blake Anderson told The Athletic last August. “He’s competitive and strong and can battle with the best of them. In this business, it takes being able to have hard conversations and fight for clients, but he does it in a manner that you feel like you’re dealing with somebody you can trust.”
CAA’s coaching division — overseen largely by Jimmy Sexton, the agency’s co-head of football and head of coaching — has had other agents depart since right before Dowdle joined CAA.
- Trace Armstrong left for Athletes First in September 2016.
- Walker Jones returned to work at Under Armour in April 2016
- Brett Just left for WME in November 2019.
While the defections have added up, Sexton and CAA remain a force in college football coaching representation. Their client list includes Alabama’s Nick Saban, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher.
Beyond Anderson, Dowdle’s client list includes Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen, and Florida State head coach Mike Norvell.
Dowdle’s departure comes amid news that French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault is in talks to purchase CAA.
