SEC Media Days: Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason Shouldering Commodores’ Woes

Written by Ryan Wright

The SEC Media Days kicked off on Monday in Hoover, Alabama starting a week full of sales pitches from each head football coach to the masses along with three players representing each squad reassuring how great their team will be in 2015. In a rare turn of events a SEC coach showed humility coupled with honesty while speaking about his failures and the team’s performance in 2014.

The coach humbled before all was Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason.

Since the end of the 2014 season Mason has continued the same rhetoric essentially saying we were ill prepared and laid an egg, and few could argue the point. The Commodores went winless in the SEC posting a 3-9 win-loss record with the wins coming against UMass (41-38), Charleston Southern (21-20), and Old Dominion (42-28). The lowlights included a season opening thumping by Temple (37-7) and an embarrassing 51-0 road loss to Mississippi State in late November.

Losing, and losing badly, had to be especially hard for the former Stanford defensive coordinator. From 2011-2013 Mason headed up the Cardinal defense seeing the Pac-12 juggernaut to 11 wins in 2011, 12 in 2012, and 11 in 2013. Adding a little insult to injury, under former head coach James Franklin the Commodores posted a three-year streak of 6 wins in 2011, 9 in 2012, and 9 in 2013 shifting from a cellar dweller to a legitimate SEC East team then falling from a lofty perch to one of the worst teams in college football.

When speaking about the 2014 season Mason stated, “I think me as a head coach, I made some assumptions a year ago about this football team. I assumed that, just because we were in the SEC, that we play like an SEC team, and we didn’t.”

On Monday Mason kept the narrative of change and a renewed vision for the team which goes hand-in-hand with the offseason changes that were made. Mason fired offensive coordinator, and friend, Karl Dorrell and cut ties with defensive coordinator David Kotulski, another longtime friend. Andy Ludwig (Wisconsin) is the new offensive coordinator charged with the task of reassembling the Commodores running and passing attack. On the other side of the ball Mason is burdening the full load naming himself Vandy’s defensive coordinator.

In regards to his failures as head coach and the team’s shortcomings Mason added, “Things were just happening fast. So I had more on my plate and more to deal with at that point in time. But in retrospect and having some experience behind me, I had a chance to look at who we are and what we are, and I thought (calling plays) was maybe taboo because you don’t see too many defensive coaches doing it. But I think what I just said is really a misnomer. If you’re a defensive mind, if you’re an offensive mind, you do what you know. I believe I know defensive football.”

Mason explained naming himself as Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator stating, “After talking to coaches and interviewing guys, I felt like I didn’t want to speak through anybody to talk about what the structure of our defense was going to be. It needed to be direct, and if I’m going to be responsible, then I’ll be responsible. So at that point in time, I figured it was best that I go ahead and move into that role, and I’ve been able to structure my day and move some things around, along with my staff, to make sure that our program doesn’t suffer because I’m moving into a defensive coordinator role. Actually, it’s been great. So I’m excited.”

Vanderbilt has an opportunity to make some noise in 2015 if they can straighten out who will get the ball under center. The Commodores started four different quarterbacks in 2014 further complicating team efforts to gain continuity under Mason. Stephen Rivers transferred and Patton Robinette retired leaving Johnny McCrary and Wade Freebeck as the only two guys on the roster with game experience.

Mason has 17 returning starters giving a wealth of experience on the squad and credits strength and conditioning coach Bill Hughan (Nebraska) for getting the Commodores in SEC shape.

The Commodores are still young on the two-deep giving Mason two years to figure it out or his time in Nashville could be short lived.

Photo credit: foxsports.com; Derek Mason at SEC Media Days.