Six days ago, Clark Lea lost a key piece of his defensive trust when Michigan zeroed in on Vanderbilt co-DC and DL coach Larry Black. And that hurts for the Commodores who just notched its first 10-win season ever in 2025. But the head coach wasted no time to reload other position needs. And this time, he went shopping in the NFL. 

According to FootballScoop, Vanderbilt is set to hire Adam Morris away from the Cleveland Browns as the Edges/Defensive Run Game Coordinator. That’s a big title with big responsibility. He had just joined the $6.4 billion franchise in 2025 and was set with the new NFL setup. Instead, he’s choosing an expanded opportunity in Nashville with Clark Lea.

This is a beneficial addition for Vanderbilt.  Adam Morris is a proven defensive coach. In 2024 at the University at Buffalo, he coached a D-line that helped set a school record with 92 tackles for loss. DE Kobe Stewart led the conference in sacks, and Buffalo’s front consistently controlled the run game. Before that, he handled the D-line and recruiting coordinator duties at Ball State in 2023. He also had high school head coaching stops where he was once the youngest head coach in Indiana. 

So what exactly is Clark Lea getting in Adam Morris? Vanderbilt gets a former Ball State DT and team captain who understands both development and structure. If you’re coordinating the defensive run game, you better understand blocking schemes and Morris does. And now he steps into an SEC room that just made serious strides under Larry Black. The question is whether he can maintain or raise that bar.

Vanderbilt used to be the easiest team to play in the SEC, even Nick Saban said that. But that’s not the case anymore and the bar isn’t low. Under Larry Black in 2024, the Dores rushing defense jumped from 104th nationally to 52nd while sacks improved from 101st to 64th. That shows good progress when they’re staring down elite O-lines every week. 

Larry Black helped engineer the program’s first winning season and bowl victory in over a decade. Michigan didn’t hire him by accident as he’ll now coach DTs in Ann Arbor alongside Lewis Powell, while Jay Hill, fresh from BYU, calls the defense. But Vanderbilt is not shrinking from it.

Clark Lea keeps building on both sides of the ball

While reshaping the defensive front, Clark Lea also made a big addition offensively, hiring former Tennessee OL Jackson Lampley as assistant OL coach. One of his biggest achievements is allowing just one sack in 647 offensive snaps. But the backstory is even better.

Jackson Lampley shares the same alma mater as Clark Lea at Montgomery Bell Academy. His father, Brad Lampley, is also a Tennessee loyalist who played OT from 1994-97 and blocked for Peyton Manning. After finishing at Tennessee, Jackson began his coaching career as an offensive intern at LSU under Brian Kelly in 2025. Now he’s back home, switching sides of the rivalry.

The Commodores open the 2026 season on September 5 against Austin Peay at FirstBank Stadium. They’ll host Tennessee on November 28 after defeating them 45-24 at Neyland Stadium last November. The Black and Gold spring game is on April 18, giving fans their first look at Vanderbilt’s edge room and the continued evolution of this defensive front.