UB football coach Pete Lembo’s game plan: Build a ‘Warrior Spirit’

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — UB Bulls football coach Pete Lembo has a passion for classic rock, WWII movies, all things British, and, of course, football. That’s the inside intel shared by his wife, Jen, Wednesday night when she introduced him for an engaging fireside chat entitled ‘UB Football 101’ during the weekly UB Newman Center Bridge Lecture Series.

The couple met in college and now have three children in college and beyond. Jen described him as ‘real’ and said, “What you see with him is what you get.”

Once Coach Lembo took the microphone, he sat and sometimes stood in front of the image of a cozy fire, answering questions from the audience about the state of college football today and his role in it.

How does he build a brand-new football program at UB? “I look at a football program no differently than any other organization,” he said.

He talked about investing in building relationships with students and staff. He wants them all working toward the same goals and sharing core values – values such as discipline, competitiveness, humility, and accountability.

And this 30-year coaching veteran believes happiness, engagement, and communication also play major roles in a team’s success: “We want to feel good about what we’re doing every day.”

That emphasis on communication extends to the language and buzzwords that his coaches use to instruct the team’s players.

“It’s critically important that we are all speaking the same language. Coaches better be talking in our language,” Lembo said.

Once everyone understands the program, the language, the philosophy, and the tactics, players become “confident and fearless,” he said, in the face of the split-second decisions they must make on the field.

“It becomes ‘our way,’ and players take more pride in owning it,” Lembo declared.

As for the new NCAA rules allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness, Lembo said he was “borderline angry” at first because it means losing players that he has invested in when the players seek better compensation at other schools. Now, he said, he accepts the reality of NIL and tries to make the most of his time with individual athletes and enjoy them.

He also keeps a plan to replace any departing athletes. “I don’t like surprises,” he said. “I’d rather plan for what’s coming.”

Indeed, Lembo helps athletes plan for their own futures. He points out that only a tiny fraction of them will get picked up by the NFL, so most will need to make their way in the world, perhaps facing a modest salary and important decisions. His program emphasizes education, social interaction, etiquette, and working with the alumni network.

Lembo was asked whether he might reach out to the Buffalo Bills and, as it turns out, head coach Sean McDermott has already reached out to him. They have known each other in passing over the years, as coaches often do. Lembo says he’s been busy building his UB program and hasn’t been able to visit the Bills facilities yet, but some of his coaches have and he said the Bills staff has welcomed them.

After coaching and living in several other cities, Lembo is high on the many positives he sees here in Buffalo and has a long list of advantages he shares with recruits. He looks forward to building a team here with a ‘warrior spirit’ and wants a team full of hunters, not gatherers, driven to be as good as they can be.

Jen Lembo, who moved into their new home in Western New York just over two weeks ago, is optimistic about their future here after leaving South Carolina.

“We are meant to be here at this place, at this time, and with this team,” she said.

Jacquie Walker is an award-winning anchor and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 1983. See more of her work here.