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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Vanderbilt has hired Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea as its new football coach, bringing back a Nashville native and former Commodores fullback to revive the program. Lea will be introduced next week at a news conference. He currently is busy helping No. 2 Notre Dame (10-0) prepare to play No. 4 Clemson on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line. Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Lee thanked Notre Dame's president, athletic director and coach Brian Kelly for their cooperation during the hiring process. Lee said it's important to everyone, including Lea, that he fulfill his obligations to Notre Dame. ''Clark Lea is the leader we trust to continue the challenging but exciting work that will elevate the Vanderbilt football program to unprecedented heights,'' Lee said in a statement. The 38-year-old Lea is a Nashville native who played baseball at Birmingham-Southern and Belmont before walking on as a fullback at Vanderbilt, where he played from 2002-04. He is a two-time graduate of Vanderbilt, having earned a graduate degree in political science. He started coaching at UCLA and also has coached at South Dakota State, Bowling Green, Syracuse and Wake Forest. Lea has been Notre Dame's defensive coordinator for the last three seasons and has coached in eight bowl games. The Fighting Irish made the College Football Playoff in 2018 behind a defense that ranked eighth in the nation in yards allowed per play (4.53). --- AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this report. --- More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
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