Vanderbilt's Clark Lea promotes Steve Gregory and Nick Lezynski to oversee the defense

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has promoted Steve Gregory to defensive coordinator and Nick Lezynski to co-defensive coordinator, the school announced Monday.

Lea served as his own defensive coordinator last season after he demoted the previous coordinator, Nick Howell, after the 2023 season.

Gregory was associate defensive coordinator and secondary coach last season. He joined Vanderbilt following five seasons as an NFL assistant.

Lezynski is entering his fourth season at Vanderbilt. He was hired as linebackers coach and was promoted to defensive run game coordinator in 2023.

Under Lea’s direction, Gregory and Lezynski helped the Vanderbilt defense show marked improvement. The scoring defense rose from 126th in 2023 to 50th in 2024 and rushing defense from 104th to 52nd. Vanderbilt held consecutive opponents under 100 rushing yards (Virginia Tech and Alcorn State) for the first time since 2017, and a 17-7 win over Auburn marked the lowest point total by an SEC opponent since 2015.

The Commodores were 7-6, their first winning record since 2013.

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