Buffalo hires South Carolina special teams coordinator, former MAC coach Pete Lembo to lead Bulls

Buffalo (AP) – Pete Lembo, a South Carolina special teams coordinator with 15 years of collegiate head coaching experience, was hired by Buffalo on Sunday to coach the Bulls.

Maurice Linguist, who led the Bulls for three years until stepping down this week to take a position as an assistant coach at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer, is replaced by Lembo. After Linguist was brought in to replace Lance Leipold, who departed for Kansas in 2021, the Bulls finished 14–23 under his leadership.

Lembo, 53, has experience in the Mid-American Conference. From 2011 to 2015, he was the head coach at Ball State, where he went 33-29 in five seasons. In ten seasons, he has gone 79-36 as head coach at Lehigh and Elon as well.

“We are going to put forth endless effort to find, nurture, and make the most of our student-athletes’ time both on and off the field. Lembo stated in a statement, “I’m particularly excited to put together an enthusiastic staff that will develop deep ties with our players and with one other.

Lembo hasn’t had a head coaching position since leaving Ball State, but he has served as special teams coordinator and assistant head coach at a number of schools, including Memphis, Maryland, and Rice.

In 2021, he started working for South Carolina under Shane Beamer. Under Beamer’s first two seasons, the Gamecocks made it to the postseason; however, in 2023, they finished 5-7.

Under Linguist, the Bulls made it to one bowl game. Under Leipold, who finished 37-33 at the school, the team had three consecutive winning seasons.