Clark Lea (born November 11, 1981) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Vanderbilt University. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame from 2018 to 2020. Lea began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2006 and went on to serve as an assistant coach at South Dakota State University, Bowling Green State University, Syracuse University, and Wake Forest University.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Vanderbilt |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 6–16 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1981-11-11) November 11, 1981 (age 41) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Playing career | |
| 2002–2004 | Vanderbilt |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2006 | UCLA (GA) |
| 2007 | South Dakota State (LB) |
| 2008 | South Dakota State (RC/LB) |
| 2009 | UCLA (GA) |
| 2010–2011 | UCLA (LB) |
| 2012 | Bowling Green (LB) |
| 2013–2015 | Syracuse (LB) |
| 2016 | Wake Forest (LB) |
| 2017 | Notre Dame (LB) |
| 2018–2020 | Notre Dame (DC) |
| 2021–present | Vanderbilt |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 6–16 |
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 and played one year of baseball (5G | 2-for-5, K).[1] Lea remained in Nashville, TN and finished his college career at Vanderbilt, playing fullback his last two years.[2]
In 2006, Lea began his coaching career at UCLA as a graduate assistant under head coach Karl Dorrell.
In 2007, Lea joined South Dakota State University as their linebackers coach under head coach John Stiegelmeier. In 2008, Lea was given an additional role as recruiting coordinator.
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.
In 2012, Lea was hired as the linebackers coach at Bowling Green State University under defensive coordinator Mike Elko and head coach Dave Clawson.
In 2013, Lea joined Syracuse University as their linebackers coach under head coach Scott Shafer.
In 2016, Lea was hired as the linebackers coach at Wake Forest University, reuniting with defensive coordinator Mike Elko and head coach Dave Clawson.
In 2017, Lea followed defensive coordinator Mike Elko to the University of Notre Dame to serve as their linebackers coach under head coach Brian Kelly.[3][4] In January 2018, Lea was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing Mike Elko, who departed to serve in the same role at Texas A&M.[5]
On December 14, 2020, Lea was named the 29th head football coach at Vanderbilt University, replacing Derek Mason.[6]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Vanderbilt | 2–10 | 0–8 | 7th (East) | |||||
| 2022 | Vanderbilt | 4–6 | 1–5 | (East) | |||||
| Vanderbilt: | 6–16 | 1–13 | |||||||
| Total: | 6–16 | ||||||||
Vanderbilt Commodores head football coaches | |
|---|---|
# denotes interim/acting head coach |
Head football coaches of the Southeastern Conference | |
|---|---|
| East Division |
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| West Division |
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# denotes interim coach | |