Clark Lea explains change in offensive coordinator for 2024 season

One of the first moves Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea made to begin the offseason saw him shake up his coaching staff, specifically at offensive coordinator.

After seemingly everything went wrong for the Commodores down the stretch last season, former OC Joey Lynch was let go and replaced by former New Mexico State assistant Tim Beck. Lea explained the thought process for making the chance after the Commodores seemingly regressed in 2023.

“I wanted to find someone who has run a system that can establish a run game,” Lea explained at the 2024 SEC spring meetings. “That was important. Game control drives where you’re looking at time of possession and drives that finish with a touchdown was another measure I used. A quarterback-friendly system. I wanted to see signals and signs of an explosive passing game. And then a system that plays mistake-free.

“Tim Beck’s offense really measured well in all those categories. Obviously, the most glaring aspect of our performance a year ago was that we turned the ball over a ton … That’s not a formula for any team to win, but certainly where we are right now as a program and where we need to be that that can’t be a part of what we do moving forward. All of that was factored in.”

In 2023, the Vanderbilt rushing unit tallied 1,144 total yards with no backs eclipsing the 400-yard mark. On top of that, the Commodores ranked last in the SEC in total offense and 13th in scoring offense, averaging just 22.8 points per game.

It helped cap a 2-10 season for Vanderbilt, marking the second time in three years the Commodores finished with that record. In 2022, they finished 5-7 to just miss out on a bowl game.

Lea decided it was time to move on. From his words, Beck appears to be the right man for the job. Before arriving in Nashville, Beck has spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the New Mexico State Aggies. In 2021, he was an offensive analyst for the TCU Horned Frogs. Before that, he spent from 1987 to 2019 at Pittsburgh State in various positions, including head coach from 2010-19.

Now, he’s taking his expertise to the SEC and will spearhead Vanderbilt’s offense heading into a shaken-up Southeastern Conference featuring new foes in the form of Texas — whom the ‘Dores will host in Week 8 — and Oklahoma.

Vanderbilt kicks off the 2024 regular season with a strong test right out of the gates with ACC foe Virginia Tech at home. They’ll begin SEC play on the road against Missouri during Week 4.