After Pete Lembo got off the phone with Terrapins football coach DJ Durkin last month, he immediately dialed his wife’s number. Durkin wanted Lembo to come coach in College Park.

“I really think this is a genuine guy who is down to Earth and who would value my role,” Lembo, the then-head coach at Ball State recalled telling his wife.

On Dec. 22., it was announced that Lembo joined the Terps as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. Lembo boasts 15 years of head coaching experience, but the Terps are the first Power Five program on his resume.

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“I’ve been able to check off a lot of boxes in my career,” Lembo said Jan. 12. “This is another great opportunity for me.”

While he was leading Lehigh, Elon and most recently Ball State to a 112-65 overall record, Lembo learned to balance his responsibilities as head coach while working closely with position groups.

The smaller programs didn’t have access to full-time assistants like the Terps do.

Lembo’s focus on special teams in his five years at Ball State propelled the Cardinals to a top-three finish in the Mid-American Conference in a compilation of special teams statistics each season. Five Ball State players earned all-conference honors for special teams during his tenure.

“To be a part of a great staff, to work under a coach who believes in the importance of special teams, that was a big selling point for me,” Lembo said. ” To take this job and to be in an environment where special teams is just a sideshow, I don’t know if that would have excited me as much.”

Lembo will help Durkin with the administrative and organizational side of the team as the assistant head coach, too.

His responsibilities won’t stop there, though. Lembo hinted at a possible role within the offense, too. He said he’s coached systems similar to what offensive coordinator Walt Bell plans to install.

Plus, Lembo has worked with offensive lines and tights ends because of his experience as a four-year offensive line starter at Georgetown.

But the Terps are a good fit for Lembo for more than just football reasons. His wife is also a Georgetown alumnus, and the couple has several friends and family in the area.

“[Durkin] laid out an opportunity for me that’s just perfect,” Lembo said. “The perfect opportunity at the perfect time. I’ve been a small school guy who’s had to work his way up through the ranks, and earn it every step along the way.”