Derek Mason
 Derek Mason being interviewed by collegiate reporter Max Herz at the 2016 Vanderbilt Football spring game. | |
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Vanderbilt |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 7–17 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Playing career | |
| 1989–1992 | Northern Arizona |
| Position(s) | Cornerback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1994 | Mesa CC (WR) |
| 1995–1996 | Weber State (WR) |
| 1997–1998 | Idaho State (RB) |
| 1999–2001 | Bucknell (DB) |
| 2002 | Utah (WR/ST) |
| 2003 | St. Mary's (AHC/Co-DC) |
| 2004 | New Mexico State (WR) |
| 2005–2006 | Ohio (WR) |
| 2007–2009 | Minnesota Vikings (DB) |
| 2010 | Stanford (DB) |
| 2011 | Stanford (AHC/Co-DC/DB) |
| 2012–2013 | Stanford (AHC/DC) |
| 2014–present | Vanderbilt |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 7–17 |
|
Statistics | |
Derek Mason is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Vanderbilt University.
Early life and playing career
Mason attended Camelback High School in Phoenix, Arizona. After graduating from high school, he attended Northern Arizona University from 1989 to 1992, where he was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at cornerback.[1]
Coaching career
After his playing career ended, Mason coached college football at Mesa Community College, Weber State, Bucknell, Utah, St. Mary's, New Mexico State, and Ohio. From 2007 to 2009, he coached defensive backs for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL under Brad Childress, who had been one of his coaches at Northern Arizona.
Stanford
In 2010, Mason was hired as defensive backs coach on Jim Harbaugh's staff at Stanford. In 2011, Mason was promoted to associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator under new head coach David Shaw.[1] In 2012, Mason became the sole defensive coordinator for the Cardinal and was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football.[1] In 2013, the defensive coordinator position was endowed and named the Willie Shaw Director of Defense.[1]
Vanderbilt
On January 17, 2014, Vanderbilt hired Mason as its new head football coach, succeeding James Franklin.[2] With the hire, Vanderbilt is the first and only school in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to have multiple minority head football coaches in its history. After back–to–back home losses, Mason won his first game as head coach against UMass by a score of 34-31. Vanderbilt had been outscored 10-78 in the two games prior to the win.[3] The Commodores struggled offensively for much of the season. Vanderbilt did not score an offensive TD for nine quarters and was the last D1 team to reach the end zone on offense.[4]
After a disappointing first season in Nashville, Mason fired both his offensive and defensive coordinators. He hired Andy Ludwig, formerly the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin, to run the offense. Mason decided to call the defensive plays himself.
The second season saw moderate growth in the program, ending 4-8 with numerous firsts for the young coach: Mason's first SEC win against Missouri and his first road win at Middle Tennessee State University. The program was lauded for a nationally respected defensive scheme, but the Commodores were unable to perform equally well with the offense or special teams.[5]
Personal
Mason and his wife, Leighanne, have two daughters.[1]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Vanderbilt | 3–9 | 0–8 | 7th (Eastern) | |||||
| 2015 | Vanderbilt | 4–8 | 2–6 | T–4th (Eastern) | |||||
| Vanderbilt: | 7–17 | 2–14 | |||||||
| Total: | 7–17 | ||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Bio: Derek Mason". Stanford Department of Athletics. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Vanderbilt hires Stanford's Derek Mason". Tennessean. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/9/13/6144417/umass-fake-punt-touchdown-vanderbilt
- ↑ http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=400548109
- ↑ "Strong Vanderbilt defense has slowed top-15 offenses". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
External links
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