After what many would consider a pleasantly surprising 5-7 finish in 2022, the Vanderbilt Commodores fell back to reality in 2023 by going 2-10.
Those results prompted head coach Clark Lea to make several changes to his coaching staff in an attempt to elevate his team in a new-look SEC for 2024. Who makes up the team behind the Commodores football program seeking its first winning season since 2013?
Vanderbilt Commodores Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Clark Lea
Lea became Vanderbilt’s 29th head coach in December of 2020, returning to his hometown of Nashville and his alma mater, where he was a former walk-on before earning a scholarship with the Commodores as a fullback.
Lea heads into the 2024 college football campaign with a 9-27 record as a head coach, including an 0-12 mark against AP-ranked opponents. The Commodores have gone winless in SEC play in two of his three seasons at the helm (2021, 2023) and have finished worst or second-worst in total offense in each season of his short tenure thus far.
Lea was hired without any head coaching experience though his playing career at the institution gives him some intellectual knowledge of the inner-workings at Vanderbilt. After defensive coordinator Nick Howell parted ways with the program after the 2023 season, Lea announced he would take over the defensive play calls himself.
Prior to his arrival, Lea had established himself as a successful assistant coach at a couple of premier college football programs. Prior to the start of the 2017 season, he was hired as a linebackers coach at Notre Dame where he helped the Fighting Irish become the last FBS team to surrender more than 20 points in a game that very first season.
He was elevated to the team’s defensive coordinator in 2018 and served in that capacity for three seasons. In 2020, Lea’s unit ranked among the top 25 in scoring defense (14th), rushing defense (17th), and total defense (25th).
Before serving as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, Lea was a linebackers coach at Wake Forest, Syracuse, Bowling Green, and UCLA.
Offensive Coordinator, Tim Beck
Tim Beck will enter his first year as offensive coordinator after spending the prior two seasons in the same role with New Mexico State. He served as head coach at NCAA Division II powerhouse Pittsburg State for a decade, where he won the 2011 Division II national title.
The 2023 season saw New Mexico State reach 10 wins for the first time since 1960 behind CUSA Offensive Player of the Year, Diego Pavia. The highlight of the season might have come when the Aggies captured their first-ever victory over an SEC opponent, winning 31-10 at Auburn, as Pavia threw for three touchdowns.
Prior to his stint as an offensive analyst at TCU for the 2021 season, Beck spent over three decades, including 10 seasons as head coach, at Pittsburg State. In addition to the aforementioned D-II national championship in 2011, he guided his teams to the postseason three other times, won over 70 percent of his games (82-35), and posted a .670 winning percentage in conference play.
Beck served as Pitt State’s offensive coordinator from 1994-2009, a stretch which included a pair of national runner-up finishes. His 2004 team set an NCAA record across all divisions for rushing yards (5,320) and total offense (8,976 yards).
Associate Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach, Steve Gregory
Steve Gregory will enter his first year at Vanderbilt and assist head coach Lea as he assumes the defensive coordinator responsibilities for this season.
A Syracuse graduate, Gregory most recently spent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins (2021-22), coaching the safeties during his second year with the franchise. He also spent three seasons on staff with the Detroit Lions, two years as a defensive assistant and one as defensive backs coach.
He began his coaching career as a quality control assistant at his alma mater in 2015, where he worked with Lea during his final year as an assistant coach for the Orange.
Gregory was a three-year starter at Syracuse, where he ranked third in school history with 40 passes defended. At the time he graduated, his five blocked field goal attempts were second-most in school history.
Despite beginning his NFL career as an undrafted free agent defensive back, Gregory would go on to appear in 111 games for two franchises (Chargers, Patriots), registering at least 30 tackles in six of his eight seasons, seven interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and three sacks.
Chief Consultant To The Head Coach/Sr. Offensive Advisor, Jerry Kill
Jerry Kill will enter his first year at Vanderbilt following two seasons as the head coach at New Mexico State, where he engineered one of the best turnarounds in the country.
He inherited a program that had won more than three games just once since 2010 and won a bowl game in his first season, then reached 10 wins and the CUSA title game in the school’s first season in the league. 2023 marked NMSU’s first 10-win season since 1960, and the bowl win in 2022 was the school’s first postseason victory since 2017.
Kill has previously served as head coach at Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Emporia State, and Saginaw Valley State. In addition, he held assistant to the head coach roles at Virginia Tech and TCU and has spent time as an administrator at Kansas State and Southern Illinois.
Kill’s coaching career started at Pittsburg State in Kansas, where he served as defensive coordinator from 1985-87 and offensive coordinator from 1991-93. He was the defensive coordinator for three seasons at the NAIA level before departing to be the head coach at Webb City High School in Missouri, where he coached Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy.
Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Linebackers Coach, Nick Lezynski
Nick Lezynski joined the Vanderbilt staff in 2022 following four seasons at Notre Dame. After immediately serving as the team’s linebackers coach, he added defensive run game coordinator to his job title prior to the start of last season.
Lezynski’s four seasons at Notre Dame began in 2018 as a defensive graduate assistant. He spent three seasons on the defensive staff coordinated by Lea before being promoted to senior defensive analyst in 2021 under the defense of current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.
Prior to Notre Dame, Lezynski made coaching stops at Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Connecticut.
Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach, Jeff LePak
Jeff LePak was promoted to special teams coordinator and tight ends coach in 2024. He joined the Vanderbilt coaching staff in February of 2021 and served as a quality control assistant, working primarily with the special teams, before being named special teams analyst prior to the 2022 season.
MORE: 2024 Vanderbilt Commodores Football Roster
Before Vanderbilt, LePak was with the Syracuse staff for the 2020 season as an offensive analyst and at McNeese State as an inside receivers coach in 2019.
Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs Coach, Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford
Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford will enter his first season at Vanderbilt after spending the past two years as part of the turnaround effort at New Mexico State, helping the Aggies to consecutive bowl games for the first time since 1960.
Prior to his time at NMSU, Muhammad-Lankford spent three seasons coaching wide receivers at Illinois State, where he also served the last two years as co-offensive coordinator.
From 2016-18, Muhammad-Lankford was running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Southeast Missouri State. He spent 2014-15 as a graduate assistant at Missouri, working primarily with the wide receivers after he got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Wyoming, in 2013.
Offensive Line Coach, Chris Klenakis
Chris Klenakis was added to Vanderbilt’s coaching staff this offseason following over three decades in college football as an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator. He has seen 24 of his former offensive linemen reach the NFL.
Klenakis served as the offensive coordinator at Nevada, mentoring Colin Kapernick, and Louisville, leading the offense during Lamar Jackson’s Heisman campaign.
He is the only coordinator in FBS history to have led the nation in rushing offense (2009) and passing offense (1997) during his career. He is also the only coordinator in FBS history to produce three 1,000-yard rushers in the same season (2009) with Nevada.
Quarterbacks Coach, Garrett Altman
Garrett Altman will enter his first season at Vanderbilt after spending the past two years as part of the turnaround effort at New Mexico State, assisting Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Beck during his two seasons with the Aggies.
Prior to New Mexico State, Altman was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, TCU. He played for the Horned Frogs from 2013-17, appearing in 25 career games as an offensive lineman.
Wide Receivers Coach, Alex Bailey
Alex Bailey joined Vanderbilt in 2022 after a one-year stop at Colorado State, preceded by six seasons at Ball State. Before coaching receivers at Colorado State, he also coached receivers and served as the recruiting coordinator for the Cardinals.
During Bailey’s time at Ball State, Justin Hall was named an All-MAC receiver for four consecutive years and finished his career as the nation’s active leader in career receptions.
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