Vanderbilt Hires Clark Lea as Next Head Coach

Vanderbilt hired Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea as its next head coach on Monday, the school announced.

Lea, 38, is on the cusp of helping to lead the Fighting Irish to their second College Football Playoff appearance in three years. He has been with Notre Dame since 2017 and been the team's defensive coordinator since 2018. This season, Notre Dame's defense ranks 12th nationally in points allowed per game (17.1) and 14th nationally in total defense (314.5 yards per game).

The move serves as a homecoming for Lea, who is from Nashville, Tenn., attended Nashville's Montgomery Bell Academy and later graduated from Vanderbilt. 

Prior to his time at Notre Dame, Lea coached at Syracuse, Bowling Green, UCLA and South Dakota State.

“I’m excited to come back to Vanderbilt to lead a program, at an institution and in a city, that gave me so much and shaped who I am today,” Lea said in a statement. “Vanderbilt is a special place with a competitive drive that I believe can translate into winning. My excitement for the role grew as I spent time with Candice Lee and Chancellor Diermeier – it’s very clear they are united around a common vision for the future of the Vanderbilt Athletics program and football.”

Lea will be replacing Derek Mason, who was fired on Nov. 29 in the midst of a winless season. Vanderbilt (0-9) is set to conclude its season on Saturday when it faces off against Georgia (6-2).

The Commodores have not had a winning season since 2013, and have finished over 0.500 just three times since 2000.