Larry Black joined the Vanderbilt football staff in January 2022 and serves as the defensive line coach. In 2025, he was elevated to defensive run game coordinator.
Black’s 2024 unit played a significant role in the Commodores producing their first winning season and bowl victory in over a decade. The group saw improvement in nearly every category. The rushing defense improved from 104th nationally in 2023 to 52nd in 2024, while sacks improved from 101st to 64th.
Khordae Sydnor and Yilanan Ouattara emerged as leaders on the line, while sophomore De’Marion Thomas and freshman Glenn Seabrooks III became as key cogs, as well. Sydnor led the line with 6.5 tackles for loss, including key drops in the Birmingham Bowl victory over Georgia Tech and bowl-clinching win at Auburn.
Ouattara, a German who did not play football in the United States before arriving at Vanderbilt, had three tackles for loss over the last three games of the season. Thomas started all 13 games as a sophomore, while Seabrooks played in all 13 games as a true freshman.
In 2023, Vandy’s defensive line was led by the veteran duo of two-time captain Nate Clifton and Devin Lee, with the pair both ranking among the SEC’s top-20 defensive linemen in sacks and Pro Football Focus pass rush grade. Clifton’s 5.5 sacks were the most by a Commodore since Dayo Odeyingbo’s 5.5 in 2020.
The Commodore defensive front worked through multiple injuries in 2022, including to captain Daevion Davis who played in just one game. Devin Lee, Nate Clifton and Christian James emerged as reliable contributors. James made 31 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, while Clifton had 22 tackles with three for loss and Lee recorded 13 tackles with 4.5 for loss.
Prior to joining the Commodores, Black most recently coached at Toledo for three seasons, where he groomed multiple All-MAC selections—including Desjuan Johnson, who was on myriad national defensive player of the year watch lists. Selected to join the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship, Black was a graduate assistant in 2018 at Notre Dame while Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea was the defensive coordinator there.
With the Fighting Irish, Black mentored a slew of future NFL linemen in Daelin Hayes, Kurt Hinish, Julian Okwara, Jamir Jones, Khalid Kareem, Jerry Tillery, Ade Ogundeji and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa.
At Indiana, Black made 127 career tackles in 48 career games for the Hoosiers as a defensive tackle. He began his coaching career at Carthage College in Wisconsin.
The Black File
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
High School: Wyoming (Wyoming, Ohio)
College: Indiana (recreation and leisure, 2012)
Wife: Kaylin
Children: Ace, Axel and Amaya
Playing Career
2009-13 • Indiana (defensive tackle)
Coaching Career
2015 • Carthage College • Defensive Line
2016 • Toledo • Graduate Assistant
2017 • Toledo • Graduate Assistant
2018 • Notre Dame • Graduate Assistant
2019 • Toledo • Defensive Line
2020 • Toledo • Defensive Line
2021 • Toledo • Defensive Line
2022 • Vanderbilt • Defensive Line
2023 • Vanderbilt • Defensive Line
2024 • Vanderbilt • Defensive Line
Postseason Experience
2016 • Toledo • Camellia Bowl
2017 • Toledo • Dollar General Bowl
2018 • Notre Dame • College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl
2021 • Toledo • Bahamas Bowl
2024 • Vanderbilt • Birmingham Bowl Champions