How former Notre Dame DC Clark Lea has transitioned to Vanderbilt, changed the culture

Clark Lea had a decision to make. He could remain the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, leading a position group which had allowed an average of just 18.6 points per year for three consecutive seasons and made two College Football Playoff appearances in three years. Lea’s other option was to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, Vanderbilt.

On paper, it was a clear promotion; defensive coordinator to head coach is an obvious move up the college football hierarchy. But the new job was going to be at Vanderbilt, a program which plays in the nation’s hardest conference and won zero games the year prior to Lea’s arrival. It’s arguably the most difficult Power Five gig, especially when you factor in the academic requirements expected of those at Vanderbilt.

“I felt like what I was leaving was so special,” Lea said on a recent episode of the Varsity House Podcast, which is hosted by former Notre Dame defensive back Shaun Crawford. “I had to make sure that what I was going to, I could be really excited about.”

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To say it was an easy decision is probably a bit of a mischaracterization. Lea didn’t want out of South Bend. He had built a top defense at a top school. But he wanted in to Nashville, so the choice didn’t require much thought.

“Because this is home and because I believe in this program, it was a no-brainer for me,” Lea said.

There were growing pains. Many growing pains. The Commodores went 2-10 in 2021, including an 0-8 SEC showing and a loss to FCS East Tennessee State to open the year.

“The transition has had its ups and downs,” Lea added. “I think any time you experience growth, you experience pain — growth on a program level but growth on a personal level, too.

“But I think where we sit now, heading into Year 2, going to work everyday with people you have established relationships with and that are aligned, on the same page and care about each other, we’re having a lot of fun.”

Lea made these comments just after taking the team on a paintball excursion as a team bonding event, which the players loved. While they know it takes time to turn any program around, they are confident Lea is the man to do it.

“When the coach changed, the mindset changed,” said Anfernee Orji, a rising senior linebacker for the Commodores. “Everyone truly believes we can win here now. Everyone is 100 percent confident, let’s just go.”

Rising senior defensive back Jaylen Mahoney piled on.

“It’s a totally different culture,” Mahoney said. “All of the guys are bought in. You see a lot more guys in the building, which is good. A lot more guys meeting with the coaches.”

There are triumphs and setbacks in any job in college athletics, but experiencing them at Vanderbilt is not the same for Lea as it was at Notre Dame or any of his other three Power Five stops — Wake Forest, Syracuse and UCLA. It’s more personal.

“I know where the grocery store is and where the coffee is, but everything hits a little bit different for me, the good and the bad,” Lea added.

Transition from DC to HC

The Vanderbilt job is Lea’s first as a head coach, and there has certainly been a learning curve. It’s been said time and time again, but a head coach has far more managerial responsibility than a coordinator. That’s not an easy transition for everyone.

“Like a lot of people, I can get blinders on sometimes and just get that narrow focus,” Lea said. “As a defensive coordinator, that can be a blessing because there is so much in your world immediately that you need to be focused on. As a head coach, you need people to constantly pull you back up to 30,000 feet.”

A man of his word, Lea is implementing the feedback he received last year from those around him concerning building up relationships. It was part of the impetus for the paintball trip, among other things. Excursions unrelated to football allow players not only to have a release from the game for themselves, but they build trust among and friendships with each other. That often translates to success on the gridiron.

“I think you have to be really intentional about it,” Lea said. “So when the adversity sets in, and it will, we’re strengthened by that because of the shared belief in the brotherhood we’ve created.”