-
Mark Schlabach
NASHVILLE — Earlier this summer, AFL coach Damien Hardwick came across the Netflix series «Any Given Saturday,» which shadowed SEC teams during the 2024 season.
Hardwick, who leads the Gold Coast Suns in Queensland, was intrigued by the third episode, «Shock the World,» which chronicled Vanderbilt’s surprising 40-35 win over then-No. 1 Alabama on October 5, 2024.
This marked the Commodores’ inaugural victory against a top-ranked team and their first win over the Crimson Tide in four decades.
Fueled by a diminutive, passionate quarterback and a coaching staff determined to challenge the status quo, Vanderbilt transformed from the SEC’s perennial underdog to formidable contenders.
«The team I’m with now is quite similar,» Hardwick noted. «A bit of a laughingstock, a bit of a joke. People used to vacation at our place.»
The Gold Coast Suns, an expansion team that entered the AFL in 2009, had never secured a finals spot in their 16-year existence until the previous season. Impressed by Vanderbilt’s coach Clark Lea and the environment he fostered, Hardwick and four assistants took a 22-hour journey to the U.S. to spend two days with the Commodores this week.
«He’s a true connector,» Hardwick remarked about Lea. «We were lucky to attend his meeting, and I felt motivated to run through a wall for him after seeing his approach. He’s a very savvy operator. His ability to inspire people to achieve greatness is what defines a top coach, and that’s why I believe they’re thriving.»
Lea and quarterback Diego Pavia are pivotal to Vanderbilt’s achievements, but they aren’t the only factors influencing its swift rise from SEC afterthought to a genuine College Football Playoff hopeful.
As they approach Saturday’s matchup at No. 20 Texas (noon ET, ABC), the Commodores stand at 7-1 for the first time since 1941 and are ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, their highest placement since reaching seventh for one week in 1937.
According to Lea, chancellor Daniel Diermeier and athletic director Candice Storey Lee deserve equal credit alongside players and coaches for obtaining the financial backing and support that was previously lacking for the football program at one of the nation’s top academic institutions.
«Vanderbilt has never prioritized this program,» stated Lea, a fullback for Vanderbilt from 2002 to 2004. «I shouldn’t say never, since we are breaking records now, possibly as far back as the 1940s. But there’s never been a moment where it was like, ‘We’re going to excel in this and do what’s necessary.’
«In fact, if anything, there’s been a certain resistance to that for fear it contradicts the narrative of being an elite academic institution. What our chancellor grasps now is that this is the front porch.»
Diermeier, who became Vanderbilt’s ninth chancellor in July 2020, is an unlikely enthusiast of college football. He was raised in West Berlin, Germany, during the Cold War, where he enjoyed watching Olympic wrestling and World Cup soccer on television as a child. He became the first in his family to attend college, enrolling at USC as an international student in 1988.
Watch your favorite events on the enhanced ESPN App. Explore more about which plan suits you best. Sign Up Now
Diermeier had a good command of English but was unfamiliar with the sports idioms prevalent in American culture. A suggestion from someone at the USC language lab encouraged him to watch sports broadcasts to learn phrases like «got the ball across the goal line» and «hit a home run.»
Although he lacked knowledge about baseball or American football, he decided to engage with the sports. The first baseball game he viewed was Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, where Dodgers pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson hit a walk-off, two-run homer against A’s closer Dennis Eckersley while famously limping around the bases in the ninth inning of a 5-4 victory.
That same year, No. 2 USC, guided by standout quarterback Rodney Peete, triumphed over No. 6 UCLA 31-22 in the Rose Bowl, finishing with a 10-0 record. USC lost to No. 1 Notre Dame 27-10 in its regular-season finale, eliminating it from the national championship race.
«The entire campus was electric,» Diermeier remembered. «It was Rodney Peete facing [UCLA quarterback] Troy Aikman. It was incredible, and I adored it. I recognized the impact college athletics can have on a community. It was a profoundly powerful experience.»
After obtaining a PhD in political science from the University of Rochester, Diermeier’s academic trajectory advanced from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business to Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and finally to the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where he also held the position of provost.
The football programs at Stanford and Northwestern shared similarities with Vanderbilt’s — they were striving to be competitive within high-academic institutions. They experienced periods of success but generally have faced challenges.
«People told me, ‘Yes, you’ve seen the Big Ten and the Pac-12, [but] you haven’t seen the SEC, and that’s a different kind of game,'» Diermeier said. «They were right, and it quickly became evident that this level offers a different intensity and passion, and we had not operated at that level.»
The Commodores recorded a 0-9 record in Diermeier’s first year during the pandemic in 2020. Vanderbilt parted ways with coach Derek Mason, whose record was 27-55 over seven seasons, recruiting Lea, who had just completed three years as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator.
It wasn’t that the Commodores hadn’t experienced victories in the 21st century. Lea’s coach at Vanderbilt, Bobby Johnson, enjoyed some success, leading the Commodores to a 7-6 record and bowl win in 2008. James Franklin achieved what had seemed impossible, guiding Vandy to successive 9-4 seasons in 2012 and 2013.
However, a criminal case involving four football players accused of assaulting an unconscious 21-year-old female student in a dorm room cast a shadow over the program. Three of the four players were convicted; the fourth accepted a plea deal with prosecutors.
«Regrettably, [Franklin] departed in a way that wasn’t favorable [due to] the rape trial that severely impacted the program,» Lea noted. «Thus, that period of success was largely overshadowed.»
Lea didn’t achieve immediate success at his alma mater. The Commodores finished 2-10 in 2021 and progressed to 5-7 the following year. After another 2-10 season in 2023, Lea realized significant changes were necessary for Vanderbilt to improve.
Kentucky the subsequent season, Lea comprehended that for the Commodores to compete in the SEC, they needed to attract experienced players through the transfer portal and enhance their competitiveness regarding name, image, and likeness funding.
After a 9-27 record in his initial three years, Lea conveyed to his athletic director that if the school couldn’t secure $3 million in donations before the transfer portal opened in December 2023, Vanderbilt wouldn’t sustain a program.
Lee managed to obtain $6 million in NIL donations in just one week, as reported by Lea.
«She understood the situation here,» Lea stated. «We’ve never been disorganized. It’s always been intentional and purposeful. But it’s easy to point fingers at the team when things go awry. It’s so straightforward to blame the coach when things fail. She was an excellent partner and was eager to address the challenge. Within that week, she remained unfazed.»
That funding enabled the Commodores to acquire New Mexico State transfers Pavia and standout tight end Eli Stowers after Lea enlisted former Aggies coach Jerry Kill as his main consultant and senior offensive advisor. Lea also recruited New Mexico State’s offensive coordinator Tim Beck and three additional assistants to assist in the turnaround.
When Vanderbilt’s general manager Barton Simmons conversed with Pavia for the first time, the former junior college quarterback, who had no FBS or FCS scholarship offers coming out of high school, told him: «Just tell Coach Lea if he brings me here, we’re gonna win every f—ing game we play.»
«It didn’t feel like nonsense, and it seemed genuine,» Simmons remarked. «He wasn’t expressing it impulsively. It was almost as if he was sharing his conviction.»
The Commodores haven’t triumphed in every game with Pavia leading, but they’ve achieved more victories than many would have anticipated. He ranks among the Heisman Trophy hopefuls after throwing for 1,698 yards with 15 touchdowns while leading the team in rushing with 458 yards and five scores.
Lea stated that Pavia has contributed significantly more to the Commodores than just his on-field statistics.
Indiana and Georgia Tech, assuming the appropriate financial resources are available.
«We’ve become an incredibly appealing destination because this is also unique,» Lea said. «Individuals are motivated by the notion of building something from the ground up instead of inheriting a legacy.»
