Clark Lea details the process that led to hiring Jerry Kill

The Vanderbilt Commodores and head coach Clark Lea made news back in January when the program opted to hire former New Mexico State head coach Jerry Kill. Kill stepped down from his post as the Aggies’ head coach to take a more behind-the-scenes position with the Commodores.

Recently, during a sit-down interview with Paul Finebaum, Lea detailed the process that led to the hiring of the former New Mexico State head coach.

“I’ve always admired Jerry, and I’ve competed against him a couple of times,” stated Lea. “But you know, just really, my admiration for him is just knowing the challenges he’s taken on and how he’s built his career. And he’s done it at places that, you know, are not carbon copies but similar to Vanderbilt. You know, a program that we’re having to build, and that’s kind of been his signature as a coach.”

“When we started the process of looking into offensive coordinator candidates — even before that, honestly, Paul, when we — New Mexico State played Auburn, I believe that week right after we played them. And obviously they went down and put on a really solid performance down there, and I saw the score. And I probably watched that game from start to finish, all three phases, maybe seven times, and what I wanted to see was, you know, what was unique about their approach, what allowed for that success to happen.”

Kill took over the New Mexico State program prior to the 2024 campaign. Before he took over, the Aggies struggled to be remotely competitive in the four seasons prior. But with him at the helm, Kill was able to quickly turn around the New Mexico State program, leading them to a 7-6 finish in his first year as head coach. He followed that up with a 10-5 campaign in 2023, the program’s first ten-win season since 1960.

“And my goal at that point was to go and spend time with Jerry in the offseason. And just to talk a little bit about the things that he makes important or emphasizes in his program, and how that can help influence our growth and our build,” Lea continued. “When we made the decision to make a change in the offense, there were a few analytical, you know, measures that we were using to fill that search, and I remembered watching Tim Beck’s offense. I remember being impressed with the toughness, you know, the creativity, but not being gimmicky.

“They had a nice approach, they kept the ball in play, positive yards, not a lot of mistakes. I think the one interception thrown early, the quarterback who’s now a part of our program too suplexed a linebacker on the sidelines, so you saw the toughness and the personality coming out,” Lea continued. “And so we put a call into Tim to gauge his interest and long story short, I mean, you know, as it turns out, you know, Jerry was really coming up on what he saw as the end of his head coaching career. And it just so happens that we’re both close in proximity to his granddaughter, which is really important to him.”

Kill started off coaching at the Division II level, where he was a defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh State from 1985-87. Afterward, he earned a head coaching opportunity at the high school level, remaining there for three years before returning to Pittsburgh State, this time as their offensive coordinator. Kill’s first collegiate head coaching opportunity would shortly follow as he would become the head coach of Saginaw Valley State, another Division II program.

“And, you know, I told Jerry too, you know, look, this is going to be my fourth season as a head coach,” said Lea. “I’ve learned a lot. I’m taking over the defense — which I’m super excited about and that has been reinvigorating to me — but I need someone to help me dedicate my time to defense, that can do the same on the offensive side, and an assistant to Tim Beck. And also just to help me check all the systems as a program and make sure that all this is aligned towards our success. And I think that appealed to Jerry too, the idea that he was going to be able to be a mentor and to help. And it’s been a blast to have him.”

Kill will work with his former offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, who is now Vanderbilt’s play caller this year to help resurrect the Commodores’ offense. If the duo can emulate some of their success at New Mexico State, transitioning it to the SEC, this move could be just what Vanderbilt needs to move up the ranks in the conference.