NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea officially announced the addition of two staff members on Friday. Tim Beck will join the Commodores as offensive coordinator, while Robert Stiner has been named director of strength and conditioning.
Beck, a national champion as an NCAA Division II head coach, joins Vanderbilt following two seasons as offensive coordinator at New Mexico State. Stiner spent the past two seasons at Georgia Southern leading the football program’s strength efforts, with previous stops including USC, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Mississippi State.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Tim and his family to Vanderbilt,” Lea said regarding Beck. “Tim’s experience as both a head coach and offensive coordinator will prove invaluable as we move forward. His offenses have been efficient and dynamic, while creating unique challenges for the opponent. Most importantly, he gets the absolute most out of his student-athletes.”
Beck’s offense helped New Mexico State and head coach Jerry Kill engineer one of the best turnarounds in FBS over the last two seasons. They inherited a program that won three games just one time since 2010 and earned consecutive bowl berths, as well as a trip to the Conference USA championship game in the Aggies first season in the league.
The 2023 season saw New Mexico State reach 10 wins for the first time since 1960 behind CUSA Offensive Player of the Year Diego Pavia. The Aggie signal caller capped the regular season ranked among the top 25 in FBS in passing touchdowns (14th), points (18th), passing yards per attempt (21st) and passing efficiency (25th). The highlight came as New Mexico State captured its first-ever victory over an SEC opponent, winning at Auburn, 31-10. Pavia threw for three touchdowns in the win on The Plains.
Beck’s first season in Las Cruces saw the Aggies win five of their last six games, with the lone loss coming at Missouri, to reach bowl eligibility. NMSU scored 44.75 points per game over the last four regular season games before winning the Quick Lane Bowl over Bowling Green. In his first season as the starter, Pavia led the team in both passing and rushing while scoring 19 touchdowns (13 pass, six rush).
Prior to his stint as an offensive analyst at TCU, Beck spent over three decades, including 10 seasons as head coach, at Pittsburg State. As the head coach, Beck won the 2011 NCAA Division II national title and reached the postseason three other times. He won over 70 percent of his games (82-35) as a head coach while also posting a .670 winning percentage in conference play.
The 2011 national championship season saw Beck earn Liberty Mutual NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, Don Hansen Football Committee Coach of the Year, FieldTurf Coach of the Year and the first of two Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards.
Beck served as Pitt State’s offensive coordinator from 1994-2009, a stretch which included a pair of national runner-up finishes. His 2004 team set an NCAA record across all divisions for rushing yards (5,320) and total offense (8,976 yards).
He also spent two seasons as defensive coordinator, three as an assistant coach and one as a graduate assistant with the Gorillas. All told, Pittsburg State posted a .786 winning percentage during his time on the sidelines with a pair of national titles.
The native Kansan played at Pittsburg State, twice making the NAIA playoffs. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Pittsburg State.
Beck and his wife, Gena, have four children — Derek, Sydney, Drew and Samantha.
Lea will be reuniting with Stiner after the pair was together for three seasons at Notre Dame, a stretch which included two College Football Playoff berths.
“I’m excited to reunite with Robert Stiner as we welcome him to the Vanderbilt football family,” Lea said. “Robert’s track record in developing student-athletes will pay immediate dividends for our program. He will take the physical preparation of our team to a new level.”
Stiner has spent the past two seasons leading strength and conditioning efforts at Georgia Southern under head coach Clay Helton. He previously spent one year as the director of football sports performance under Helton at USC.
Prior to joining Helton’s staffs, Stiner spent 2018-20 at Notre Dame as an assistant director of football strength and conditioning. It marked the same three seasons Lea served as defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish. During that stretch, Notre Dame went 33-5, earning two College Football Playoff berths. The level of performance carried over to the NFL Scouting Combine, where over two years Notre Dame produced 47 top-10 placements in running, jumping and lifting drills — more than the previous five years combined. Eight drills saw Notre Dame products with the top result.
Stiner previously served as an assistant director at Cincinnati (2017), Florida International (2016), Central Arkansas (2014-16) and Mississippi State (2012-13). His two seasons in Starkville marked his first stint under director of strength and conditioning Matt Balis, who later hired Stiner while leading the strength staff at Notre Dame.
The Nahunta, Georgia, native was a four-year starter at defensive end for Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. He was a team captain, twice earned All-Mid-South honors and won Belhaven’s strength and conditioning athlete of the year award in 2007. Since his football career concluded, he has competed in amateur mixed martial arts events.
In addition to being certified through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, he received a bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Belhaven in 2008 and completed a master’s in health and physical education/fitness at Valdosta State in 2011.
Stiner and his wife, Briana, have a daughter, Margaret.
