Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea surveys the field during the second quarter at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt Football Announces New Defensive Coordinator

Originally posted on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI
By Taylor Hodges | Last updated Mar 3, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Vanderbilt had a special season on the gridiron with the program’s first winning season and bowl game win in more than a decade. But there’s still room for improvement and Monday’s latest announcement is aimed at continuing those improvements.

Commodores’ coach Clark Lea announced Monday that Steve Gregory has been promoted to defensive coordinator and Nick Lezynski has been promoted to co-defensive coordinator. Lea served as Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator last season and Gregory was an associate defensive coordinator and secondary coach.

Vanderbilt’s 2024 defense showed dramatic improvements from its previous iterations under Lea’s direction and with Gregory and Lezynski playing major roles. The scoring defense improved from 126th in 2023 to 50th in 2024, while rushing defense jumped from 104th to 52nd. Vanderbilt held consecutive opponents under 100 rushing yards (Virginia Tech and Alcorn State) for the first time since 2017 and in a 17-7 win over Auburn, held an SEC opponent to its lowest point total since 2015.

Those improvements should continue next season with the defense returning nine starters and its three leading tacklers in Bryan Longwell, Langston Patterson and Randon Fontenette.

Gregory spent five seasons as an NFL coach, spending two seasons in Miami and three in Detroit. He began his coaching career as a quality control assistant at his alma mater, Syracuse, in 2015, Lea’s final year as an assistant coach for the Orange.

Lezynski is entering his fourth season at Vanderbilt. He started off as the linebackers coach and was promoted to the defensive run game coordinator in 2023. Before coming to Nashville, he spent four seasons at Notre Dame, his alma mater, including three years during Lea’s time as defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish.

Vanderbilt opens spring practice Tuesday leading up to the Black and Gold Spring Game on April 12. The 2025 season kicks off Aug. 30 when Charleston Southern visits FirstBank Stadium.