NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea has announced the promotion of Jeff LePak to special teams coordinator. LePak will work with the tight ends in addition to coaching special teams.
“Jeff has been an integral part of our efforts on special teams the past three seasons and I’m excited for him to continue to move that phase forward,” Lea said. “The trust he has built with our team through his hard work and attention to detail will provide a strong foundation for us moving forward.”
LePak has been at Vanderbilt since 2021, first in a quality control role and later as special teams analyst. LePak has assisted with the Commodore special teams over the last three seasons as they improved from a sub-100 ranking in ESPN’s Special Teams Efficiency to a top-45 ranking each of the last two seasons.
In 2023, punter Matthew Hayball was named one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award and first-team All-SEC. He capped his Commodore career as the school’s career leader in punting average. In addition, long snapper Wesley Schelling was voted second-team All-SEC, becoming the first Vandy player to earn All-SEC honors in multiple seasons since 2016.
Before Vandy, LePak spent 2016-18 and 2020 at Syracuse as an offensive analyst, with a one-year stint at McNeese State as inside receivers coach in 2019. He spent the bulk of his time with the Orange as a quality control coach with the special teams. During his time, Syracuse led the ACC in net punting in 2017 and 2018.
In 2019, LePak helped McNeese State show significant increases in yards per game (+92 yards), passing yards per game (+40 yards), rushing yards per game (+54 yards), points per game (+6) and touchdown passes (+12) over the previous season. Receiver Cyron Sutton set the school season record with 67 receptions that year.
LePak began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green, working with the tight ends. He helped the Falcons to the Mid-American Conference title and berth in the GoDaddy Bowl.
As a player, LePak began his career as a receiver at Baylor before transferring to Eastern Illinois. At EIU, he caught 81 passes for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns in his two seasons. He served as a team captain as a senior and was a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference pick. He earned All-America honors in 2013 while helping Eastern Illinois to the FCS quarterfinals.
The Belton, Texas, native earned a degree in psychology from Eastern Illinois in 2014.
