Vanderbilt and head football coach Clark Lea have agreed to a contract extension, the university announced on Monday afternoon.
The extension comes before Lea’s third year with the program. After going 2-10 in his first year in Nashville, the Commodores rebounded for a 5-7 record in 2022. It was the program’s first season of five or more wins since 2018, including key wins in November over Kentucky and Florida.
The program, which went 3-18 in its final two years under former head coach Derek Mason has shown vast improvements under Lea in just a short period.
While Vanderbilt did not disclose the contract terms, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the extension will keep the former Commodore fullback with the program through 2029.
Before his time with Vanderbilt, Lea spent time across the college football landscape, stopping at UCLA, South Dakota State, Bowling Green, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame along the way. Lea served as the Fighting Irish’s linebacker coach for four seasons while also serving three of those seasons as their defensive coordinator under head coach Brian Kelly.
Vanderbilt and Lea will get their 2023 season started on August 26 as the Commodores host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Their remaining non-conference schedule includes Alabama A&M and trips to Wake Forest and UNLV before diving into their SEC schedule starting September 23 against the Kentucky Wildcats.