SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Everything Clark Lea does is with a purpose, and one only needed to hear the Notre Dame defensive coordinator speak to a group of reporters Thursday to understand that philosophy.



The Vanderbilt graduate repeatedly spoke of remembering how he was coached as a player, saying of his current Irish pupils: “I try to coach these guys in a way that is respectful of their intelligence, and I know how desperately they want to be good. So let me not just drill the drill, let me show and explain exactly how this drill will affect them in the game.”



Of meeting with players he has not coached before, such as cornerback Julian Love, Lea said: “If I’m going to do this job well, he needs to know what makes me tick.”



It only took Notre Dame five days after Mike Elko left for Texas A&M to promote Lea to defensive coordinator. The 36-year-old former linebackers coach inherits a unit that, depending on one’s math,...