Auburn, AL--Clark Lea sat in his office in December with this in mind after Vanderbilt's 2-10 season.

That was rock bottom for Lea and his staff, who saw the need for major changes.

Even at that rock bottom Lea held belief, though.

"I never lost any belief in what we could do," Lea said. "I’ve got this weird ability to always kinda see through the smoke."

That doesn't mean it wasn't intimidating for Lea as he entered a season with a 16-team SEC and perhaps his most daunting schedule yet, though.

Lea saw the challenge more clearly than the vision sometimes.

"I think in those moments you look at the climb ahead and it can take your breath away a little bit," Lea said.

As Lea aligned his "football strategy" more and more with what he felt could succeed it gave him a level of confidence.

What took that confidence to the next level was the level of belief that his quarterback had in his ability to turn things around.

Vanderbilt signal caller Diego Pavia oozes confidence, a confidence that was almost unbelievable to Lea when he was first surrounded by it.

Perhaps the most impactful part of Pavia's confidence; he's bought in to what Lea is selling.

"He just sets the standard for us," Pavia said of Lea. "You guys don’t understand how much he sees his vision for his program and we’re barely at the chip of it so he wants more than we want and he’s at the office earlier than everyone, later than everyone."

Lea doesn't want those long hours to result in a futile ending here. He wants more.

"I don’t want this to be the final chapter for year four, I don’t want this to be the end," Lea said. "We’re not gonna sit back and celebrate and say ‘that’s enough.’"

Vanderbilt has clinched bowl eligibility with four games to go and believes in its ability to be more than just a team that plays in the postseason.

Lea believes his team has more within it.

"I see this as another launching point for us."