A History of Vanderbilt University Head Football Coaches

The Vanderbilt Commodores college football team represents Vanderbilt University in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores compete as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The team has played 1,300 games over 135 seasons of Vanderbilt football.

Early Coaching Era

From the team’s inception in 1890 until just post-World War II, Vanderbilt was consistently average, good or great.

Coaches Who Led the Commodores to Postseason Bowl Games

In that time, seven coaches have led the Commodores to postseason bowl games: Art Guepe, Steve Sloan, George MacIntyre, Bobby Johnson, James Franklin, Derek Mason, and E. Lea.

Coaches Who Won Conference Championships

Four other coaches won conference championships: R. G. Acton, Walter H. Watkins, James R. Henry and Dan McGugin.

Dan McGugin: A Coaching Legend

McGugin is the leader in seasons coached and games won, with 198 victories during his 30 years at Vanderbilt. Far and away the best coach in Vanderbilt history, McGugin won 197 games at Vanderbilt and 11 conference titles - 9 SIAA and 2 SoCon. He oversaw 4 undefeated seasons including a stretch from 1920-1923 where Vanderbilt won or tied 19 straight games.

McGugin spent 1 year at Michigan before landing in Nashville in 1904. He then oversaw the Commodores for 28 of the next 30 seasons - only missing 1918 and 1919. During the offseason McGugin was a corporate lawyer - and a well-known one at that. Naturally, he was also a professor of law at Vanderbilt during this time. McGugin was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, the inaugural class. This came 15 years after his death in 1936, which came just 2 years after his switch from coaching to Athletics Director.

Vanderbilt's best season under McGugin was the 1904 team that went 9-0 and allowed four total points. McGugin's teams won nine Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles and two Southern Conference titles. Vanderbilt's athletic facility is named after McGugin.

The Post-McGugin Era

Speaking of Guepe, his tenure marked the beginning of a slow descent for the Commodores football program. Only 2 head coaches since then have finished their Vanderbilt tenure with a record above .500 - Steve Sloan and James Franklin.

Art Guepe's Tenure

Art Guepe was Vanderbilt football coach from 1953-62. He joined the Commodores after serving as Virginia's coach for seven seasons. Vanderbilt's best season under Guepe was the 1955 team that went 8-3 and went to the school's first bowl game - the Gator Bowl.

Red Sanders' Impact

Red Sanders was Vanderbilt football coach from 1940-42 and 1946-48. Navy in World War II. Vanderbilt's best season under Sanders was the 1948 team that went 8-2-1 and had a No. 12 final national ranking.

Read also: Vanderbilt University Alumni

Ray Morrison's Contributions

Ray Morrison was Vanderbilt football coach in 1918 and 1935-39. He played for McGugin from 1908-11 and was the Commodores' first All-American. Vanderbilt's best season under Morrison was the 1935 team that went 7-3 and finished second in the SEC.

Bobby Johnson's Era

Bobby Johnson was Vanderbilt football coach from 2002-09. Vanderbilt saw one winning season in the 27 years before Franklin’s hire in 2011. Just one, when Bobby Johnson led the Commodores to 7-6 and their first bowl win since 1955.

James Franklin's Brief but Impactful Stint

Franklin only stayed at Vanderbilt 3 years, but he won just under 62% of his games and finished back-to-back 9-win seasons - 2012 was the first 9-win season for Vanderbilt since 1915. Following the 2013 season Franklin left for Penn State - and he’s seen continuous success since.

Clark Lea: The Current Head Coach

Clark Lea (born November 11, 1981) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at Vanderbilt University since 2021. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame from 2018 to 2020. Lea started his college career playing baseball. In 2009, Lea returned to UCLA as a graduate assistant under head coach Rick Neuheisel.

In the 2021 season, Lea led Vanderbilt to a 2-10 mark in his first season as head coach. The 2022 season marked improvement for Lea and the Commodores with a 5-7 record. The Commodores defeated SEC East rivals Kentucky and Florida to highlight the 2022 season. In the 2023 offseason, Lea's contract was extended three years through the 2029 season. Lea coached Vanderbilt to a 2-10 record in the 2023 season. On October 5, 2024, Lea coached Vanderbilt to a 40-35 upset victory over No. 1 Alabama.

Lea's Historic 2025 Season

The 2024 and 2025 SEC Coach of the Year and recipient of the 2025 FWAA Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award, E. Lea’s commitment to sustained excellence at his alma mater set the stage for a historic 2025 season. In addition to winning the Eddie Robinson Award, Lea was a 2025 finalist for the Paul “Bear” Bryant, George Munger, AFCA and Walter Camp Coach of the Year Awards, as well as the Dodd Trophy. The Dores entered the Associated Press rankings in September and remained ranked for the next 13 weeks - after having never spent more than four weeks in the poll in a season. They were ranked as high as No.

Amassing the 11th-best strength of record in the country, according to ESPN, the Commodores defeated four ranked opponents. Vanderbilt’s only regular season losses came at No. 9 Alabama and No. Vanderbilt was undefeated at home (7-0) and played in front of six capacity crowds at FirstBank Stadium, completely reimagined by the Vandy United facilities campaign. First win over the nation’s No. Lea’s defense held opponents to their fewest points per game (23.4) in nearly a decade. Paired with Beck’s offense, Vanderbilt produced its best scoring margin since 2013 and had a positive scoring margin for just the fifth time since 1983. Lea was the first Vanderbilt coach to be voted SEC Coach of the Year by his peers since 2008 and the first to win it outright since 1982.

Building a Foundation

In his first three seasons, Lea went about the difficult work of rebuilding a culture and resetting expectations, necessary steps in growing the championship-caliber program he envisioned.

In 2022, Vanderbilt won multiple SEC games for the first time in four years, including the first home win against Florida since 1988. In 2023, the Commodores were the SEC’s least penalized team in total penalties (59) and penalty yards (510). In remaking the program in his image, Lea never looked for short cuts. As a team, the 2023 Commodores posted a program-record 3.106 grade-point average for the fall semester. A year earlier, Vanderbilt earned the annual Academic Achievement Award from the American Football Coaches Association thanks to a 100 percent graduation rate. It marked the fifth time Vanderbilt captured the honor since it was instituted in 1981. Additionally, four Commodores were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators.

Lea's Coaching Background

A Nashville native who attended Montgomery Bell Academy, Lea played baseball at Birmingham-Southern and helped the team win the 2001 NAIA national championship. Lea then transferred to Belmont play baseball before finishing his career at Vanderbilt, playing fullback during his final two years of eligibility. After initially pursuing his SEC football dreams as a walk-on, Lea earned a scholarship with the Commodores.

Notre Dame - 2018-20 (Defensive Coordinator): Lea was the architect of a defense that helped Notre Dame to a No. 2 national ranking and appearance in the ACC Championship Game in 2020, two years after qualifying for the College Football Playoff semifinals. He helped the Fighting Irish to a 12-1 mark in 2018, with the lone loss to No. 2 Clemson in the CFP semifinals.
Notre Dame - 2017 (Linebackers): Lea helped Notre Dame become the last team in the FBS to surrender more than 20 points in a game, as the Fighting Irish allowed only four plays of 40 yards or longer and just one play of 50 yards or longer.
Wake Forest - 2016 (Linebackers): In Lea’s lone season at Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons’ defense ranked in the top-20 of the FBS in fumbles recovered (third), turnovers forced (10th), sacks (12th), defensive touchdowns (17th), red zone defense (17th) and scoring defense (20th). Wake Forest was one of four schools in the FBS to rank in the top-20 in turnovers forced, sacks and scoring defense.
Syracuse - 2013-15 (Linebackers): In three years with the Orange, Lea helped develop Zaire Franklin to an All-ACC performer. In 2015, Franklin became the fourth sophomore captain in team history and led the Orange in tackles with 81.
Bowling Green - 2012 (Linebackers): Lea was a key piece of a defense that finished the year ranked seventh in the country in pass defense, ninth in scoring defense and sixth in third-down defense, while his linebacker unit featured a pair of All-Mid-American Conference performers.
UCLA - 2010-11 (Linebackers): Lea helped Akeem Ayers to a Dick Butkus Award finalist finish in 2010 en route to being the 39th overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft.
UCLA - 2009 (Graduate Assistant • Linebackers): Lea returned to UCLA as a second-year graduate assistant and helped Reggie Carter to a team-high 79 tackles and Kyle Bosworth to 77 stops.
South Dakota State - 2007 (Linebackers): In first full-time coaching job, Lea’s three starting linebackers ranked among the top four tacklers in the league, as South Dakota State won the Great West Football Conference championship.

"Bear" Bryant's Brief Stint as an Assistant Coach

Bear Bryant-the winningest coach in the history of college football at the time of his death, and known best for his unequaled 24-year tenure as head football coach for the University of Alabama-was an assistant coach for the Commodores during the earliest part of his career.

Bryant threw himself into his work with passion, challenging his players to sprints, jumping into the huddle without pads during practice. He was demanding, but his players loved him. A big baseball fan, he was even known to pitch batting practice to the Commodore baseball team.

Other Notable Assistant Coaches

Wallace Wade, an assistant to Dan McGugin in 1921-22, went on to win three national championships as head coach at the University of Alabama, and his 1938 Duke team did not allow a single point until the final minute of the season finale, the Rose Bowl.
Buddy Ryan, who passed away earlier this summer, enjoyed a 28-year professional coaching career, beginning with the Super Bowl III-winning New York Jets, serving as the fiery defensive coordinator of the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears, and as head coach of the Eagles and Cardinals.
Steve Belichick was a Vanderbilt assistant coach under Bill Edwards from 1949 to 1952. He is the father of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

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