Clark Lea (born November 11, 1981) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who has been the head football coach at Vanderbilt since 2021. He previously served as the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

from 2018 to 2020. Lea began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) in 2006 and went on to serve as an assistant coach at

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, and

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

Playing career

Lea started his college career playing baseball. He helped lead Birmingham Southern to the 2001 NAIA championship his freshman year. Lea then transferred to

Belmont University Belmont University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporate ...

and played one year of baseball (5G, 2-for-5, K). Lea remained in Nashville and finished his college career at Vanderbilt, where he played fullback for the

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

his final two years.

Coaching career

UCLA (first stint)

In 2006, Lea began his coaching career at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

as a graduate assistant under head coach

Karl Dorrell Karl James Dorrell (born December 18, 1963) is an American football coach. He has been the head coach for the UCLA Bruins football, UCLA Bruins and Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes, being named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for b ...

South Dakota State

In 2007, Lea joined

as their linebackers coach under head coach John Stiegelmeier. In 2008, Lea was given an additional role as recruiting coordinator.

UCLA (second stint)

In 2009, Lea returned to UCLA as a graduate assistant under head coach Rick Neuheisel. In 2010, he was promoted to linebackers coach. Following Neuheisel's firing on November 28, 2011, Lea was not retained by UCLA for the 2012 season.

Bowling Green

In 2012, Lea was hired as the linebackers coach at

under defensive coordinator Mike Elko and head coach

Dave Clawson David Paul Clawson (born August 16, 1967) is an American retired college football coach and former player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Wake Forest University, where he was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year. Clawson ...

Syracuse

In 2013, Lea joined

as their linebackers coach under head coach Scott Shafer.

Wake Forest

In 2016, Lea was hired as the linebackers coach at

, reuniting with defensive coordinator Mike Elko and head coach

Notre Dame

In 2017, Lea followed defensive coordinator Mike Elko to the

to serve as their linebackers coach under head coach Brian Kelly. In January 2018, Lea was promoted to

, replacing Mike Elko, who departed to serve in the same role at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Vanderbilt

On December 14, 2020, Lea was named the 29th head football coach at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, replacing Derek Mason. In the 2021 season, Lea led Vanderbilt to a 2–10 mark in his first season as head coach. The 2022 season marked improvement for Lea and the Commodores with a 5–7 record. The Commodores defeated SEC East rivals

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to highlight the 2022 season. In the 2023 offseason, Lea's contract was extended three years through the 2029 season. Lea coached Vanderbilt to a 2–10 record in the 2023 season. On October 5, 2024, Lea coached Vanderbilt to a 40–35

upset victory An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the "favorite") is defeated by (or, in the case of sports, ties with) an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying ...

over No. 1 Alabama, the Commodores' first ever win vs an AP top 5 team, as well as their first win over Alabama since 1984. Lea led Vanderbilt to a 6–6 mark in the regular season. The team played in the Birmingham Bowl against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and won 35–27.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Coaching statistics
at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

South Dakota State Jackrabbits profile

UCLA Bruins profile

Bowling Green Falcons profile

Syracuse Orange profile

Wake Forest Demon Deacons profile

Notre Dame Fighting Irish profile

Vanderbilt Commodores coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lea, Clark 1981 births Living people American football fullbacks Belmont Bruins baseball players Birmingham–Southern Panthers baseball players Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits football coaches Syracuse Orange football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee High school football coaches in California