Vanderbilt Commodores: Is Derek Mason The Guy?
By Zach Ragan
Derek Mason is finishing his third season as the Vanderbilt Commodores’ head coach.
Derek Mason’s first two seasons at Vanderbilt didn’t go very well.
Especially compared to the success that James Franklin enjoyed as the Commodores’ head coach.
Franklin, who is now the head coach at Penn State, ushered in unprecedented success at Vanderbilt.
Under Franklin, the Commodores went to three straight bowl games and twice won nine games.
That doesn’t happen at Vanderbilt.
The Commodores never appeared in back-to-back bowl games before Franklin took them to three in a row. And the last time they won nine games in a season? 1915.
That’s why it’s not exactly fair to look at Mason’s combined seven wins over his first two seasons and compare it to Franklin’s success.
Just taking Vanderbilt to a bowl game is a historic feat in its own right.
Fortunately for Mason, it looks like David Williams, the AD at Vandy, understands that he’s found a solid coach in Mason.
Williams recently expressed hope that Mason would be Vanderbilt’s coach long term, saying “We are very happy with Coach Mason. We love the direction the program is going.”
And he should be.
No, 2016 wasn’t a perfect season for Vanderbilt. They, like another team in the SEC East, should’ve beat South Carolina. The loss to Georgia Tech was embarrassing. Losing to Missouri was completely unexpected.
But the Commodores had two absolutely huge wins near the end of the season.
Vanderbilt convincingly beat Ole Miss, before ending the Vols’ hope of Sugar Bowl bid.
Those two wins gave fans of the Commodores a lot of hope for the future. It proved that Vanderbilt is not going to return to being a perennial cellar dweller.
Winning at Vanderbilt is never going to be easy. But James Franklin proved it’s not impossible.
Derek Mason is proving the same.
The only downside for the Commodores is that if Mason has continued success at Vandy, he’ll eventually be an in-demand coach at other programs.
And if that happens, will the Commodores be able to keep their man?
Only time will tell.
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Vanderbilt plays NC State in the Independence Bowl on December 26.