Clark Lea, Diego Pavia Get Major SEC Awards

Vanderbilt’s head coach and quarterback are among the best coach and player combinations in the country.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (2) and coach Clark Lea embrace after the team’s win against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt football’s awards post-regular season continue to roll in as the SEC released its 2025 award winners, per a press release Wednesday.

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea won 2025 SEC Coach of the Year and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia earned SEC Offensive Player of the Year for the Commodores historic season, voted on by the conference.

This is Lea’s second consecutive SEC Coach of the Year award. A year ago, Vanderbilt went 7-6 with its first bowl victory since 2013 following a 2-10 2023 season. In 2025, Lea coached his team to a program-record 10-2 regular season. It marks the first time that Vanderbilt football has won 10 games in a season. Lea is the first Vanderbilt coach ever to win consecutive conference coach of the year awards.

Pavia has been Lea’s best player on the field over the past two seasons. After making an instant impact on the program a year ago, Pavia’s second season in Nashville was even better. Pavia put up 4,018 yards this season along with 36 touchdowns. Pavia was the catalyst that made Vanderbilt the eighth-highest scoring team in college football, averaging 39.4 points per game.

Pavia also helped Vanderbilt to become the top team in the country in yards per player and player passing efficiency. With his performance, Pavia has earned a spot as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Pavia will go to New York City this weekend to the Heisman Trophy Ceremony, where he will find out if he won college football’s top award. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love are the other three finalists.

Both Lea and Pavia have played pivotal roles in Vanderbilt’s historic turnaround. Lea has implemented a winning culture and a winning attitude into his players the past two seasons and the results have shown up on the field. On top of that, Lea has been masterful in his use of the NCAA transfer portal, grabbing key pieces like Pavia over the past two years.

Lea’s coaching effort earned him a six-year contract extension that was signed in November. The contract is a culmination of the hard work that Lea has poured into the program since he was first hired in December of 2020. Vanderbilt has a combined record of 17-8 since Pavia joined Lea at Vanderbilt.

On top of the 10-win season, Vanderbilt also took down three teams ranked in the AP Top 15 over the course of the fall. The victories landed Vanderbilt in the AP Top 10 at one point for the first time since 1947.

Lea gets one last opportunity to coach Pavia in the postseason as Vanderbilt heads to Tampa Bay, Florida for the ReliaQuest Bowl against No. 23 Iowa. The Commodores and the Hawkeyes will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on Dec. 31.