University of Memphis Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Special Teams Coordinator / Assistant Head Coach
- Email:
- football@memphis.edu
- Phone:
- 901-678-5119
Pete Lembo is in his second season as the program’s assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. He joined the Memphis staff in January 2019.
Recognized as one of college football’s top special teams tacticians, Lembo markedly improved what was already one of the country’s top units. In one season, Lembo had the Memphis special teams make a leap up the ESPN Team Efficiency Rankings from 59th in 2018 – season prior to his arrival at Memphis – to 2nd in 2019. The Tigers also earned college football’s highest rating for “Special Teams Points Added” from Championships Analytics Inc., and were ranked in the top-10 for overall special teams by FootballOutsiders.com.
The UofM special teams ranked in the top-10 in six NCAA/FBS statistical categories: kick-return yards (2nd), kick-return TD (2nd), blocked kicks (6th), blocked punts (6th), kickoff touchbacks (6th) and kick returns (9th). The Tigers led The American in kick returns, kick-return yards, kick-return TD and kickoff touchbacks.
In addition, Memphis led the FBS in average starting field position after kickoffs (33.3 yard line) and returned 10 kickoffs that allowed the offense to begin drives beyond the 40-yard line. On the flip side, the UofM’s kick-return defense permitted only one kick return to cross the 30-yard line in 14 games.
Lembo’s unit allowed its special teams stars to shine. Kicker Riley Patterson and kick-return specialist Antonio Gibson were named to the All-American Athletic Conference first team, and Gibson also was honored as the league’s co-Special Teams Player of the Year. Patterson, who set an FBS bowl record with six FG in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, ranked among the final FBS statistical leaders in FG percentage (6th), FG made (7th) and FG made/game (17th). Gibson was ninth in kick-return yards/game and 21stin combined kick-return yards.
Preston Brady, Patterson’s holder, received the Mortell Award as the nation’s most outstanding holder in 2019. Brady, a versatile special teams performer, recovered an onside kick to seal the win over SMU and scored a two-point conversion in the victory at Louisiana-Monroe.
For his efforts, Lembo was the lone special teams coordinator nominated (41 nominees) for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to nation’s top assistant coach. He also was one of three finalists for FootballScoop.com’s Special Teams Coordinator of the Year honor.
Before arriving in the Bluff City, Lembo’s special teams were ranked among the nation’s best at Rice (2018) and Maryland (2016-17). At Maryland, he also served as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach.
His 2018 Rice special teams ranked fifth in the FBS with just 16.12 kickoff return yards allowed and 15thwith 24.41 kickoff return yards per game. As a unit, Rice’s special teams ranked 17thin the country in the ESPN Team Efficiency Rankings (60.8 percent), after coming in at 114ththe season before Lembo’s arrival.
Owls punter Jack Fox was named a Ray Guy Award semifinalist after ranking eighth in the country with a 45.5 yards per punt average. Fox led the nation with 3,636 punting yards, had 26 punts of at least 50 yards and had 31 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Kick returner Austin Walter earned honorable mention all-conference honors with 491 kick-return yards, and kicker Haden Tobola, who hit just one field goal in 2017, earned all-conference honors in 2018 with a Rice season record for FG percentage (90.9 percent; 10-for-11).
In his time at Maryland, Lembo’s special teams ranked as some of the best in the country. In two seasons at Maryland, the Terps tied for fifth nationally with nine blocked kicks. The Terps’ kick-return defense over the same two seasons ranked 21st(2016) and 37th(2017) nationally under Lembo’s guidance.
Lembo spent five seasons as the head coach at Ball State (2011-15), and during his tenure, the Cardinals set more than 60 school records, including season marks for points (501), total offense (6,199 yards), passing yards (4,214), TD passes (35) and total TD (64) in 2013. He sent a number of former Cardinals to the NFL, including wide receiver Willie Snead, defensive end Jon Newsome and quarterback Keith Wenning. Lembo also coached two-time All-MAC tight end Zane Fakes, who was a 2013 National Football Foundation (NFF) Campbell Trophy semifinalist.
His Ball State special teams also ranked among the top of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in each of his five seasons. Kicker Steve Schott was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, and punter Scott Kovanda was a 2012 Ray Guy Award finalist. In 2014, kicker Scott Secor was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year.
In five seasons, Lembo posted a mark of 33-29, improving his career coaching mark to 112-65 in 15 seasons. He was the first head coach in Ball State history to win at least 30 games in his first four seasons. Lembo guided the Cardinals to a 9-4 record and an appearance in the 2012 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl and a 10-3 mark and a 2013 GoDaddy Bowl appearance. It was just the second time in the Cardinals’ 91-year history the program went to bowl games in consecutive seasons.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Albany (1992-93), and then spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Dartmouth (1994-96) and a season at Hampden-Sydney (1997) before joining the staff at Lehigh in 1998. There, Lembo started as an assistant coach before being named the head coach in 2001. In five seasons at the helm, he posted a 44-14 mark, leading Lehigh to the 2001 and 2004 Patriot League crowns and FCS playoff berths. His .759 overall winning percentage and .778 league winning percentage are the second-highest in Patriot League history. He was named the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year and Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2001 when his team finished 11-1 and ranked fifth in both NCAA Division I-AA polls.
In 2006, Lembo took over the Elon program. Over the next five years, Lembo led the Phoenix to 35 wins, more than doubling their win total from the previous five years (14). Lembo’s Elon teams broke 124 NCAA, Southern Conference (SoCon) and school records and sported a 24-14 record in SoCon play. He was named the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2007.
Lembo moved from Elon to take over the program at Ball State in 2011. He left Ball State in 2016 to join the staff at Maryland. His 2016 Terrapins special teams ranked fifth in the nation with five blocked kicks and 11thin 2017 with four blocked kicks. His 2017 Maryland unit ranked 11thout of 130 FBS programs in ESPN’s Special Teams Efficiency rankings.
From 2002-10, Lembo served as a member of the FCS Head Coaches Executive Committee. He also was a member of the All-America Selection Committee (2001-05) and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Public Relations Committee (2002-05). In 2014, he served as a member of the AFCA Ethics Committee.
Lembo, a 1992 graduate of Georgetown University, was a four-year starter on the Hoyas’ offensive line and served as team captain in 1991.
A native of Staten Island, New York, Lembo is married to the former Jenifer Kochis. The couple has three children: Sophia, A.J. and Victoria.
| Alma Mater | Georgetown University, 1992 University at Albany, SUNY, 1994 |
| Playing Experience | Georgetown University (1988-91) Four-year starter, team captain in 1991 |
| Family | Wife - Jenifer Children - Sophia, A.J. and Victoria |
Coaching Experience
| University at Albany, SUNY | Graduate Assistant (1992-93) |
| Dartmouth College | Assistant Coach (1994-96) |
| Hampden-Sydney College | Assistant Coach (1997) |
| Lehigh University | Assistant Coach (1998-2000) Head Coach (2001-05) |
| Elon University | Head Coach (2006-10) |
| Ball State University | Head Coach (2011-15) |
| University of Maryland | Assistant Head Coach, Special Teams Coordinator, Tight Ends (2016-17) |
| Rice University | Associate Head Coach, Special Teams Coordinator (2018) |
| University of Memphis | Assistant Head Coach, Special Teams Coordinator (2019-Present) |
Bowl Coaching Experience
| 2012 | Beef O'Brady's Bowl |
| 2013 | GoDaddy.com Bowl |
| 2016 | Quick Lane Bowl |
| 2019 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl |
