On Wednesday, it was reported that former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason had been in contact with LSU regarding its defensive coordinator opening. Mason has now confirmed that is true.

“There have been some conversations,” Mason told Glenn Guilbeau of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser on Wednesday night. “I’m taking some time right now. I’m spending time with my family. But I’ll say this, I have the utmost respect for Coach [Ed] Orgeron. I truly believe he’s an unbelievable coach. And LSU is a top five program as far as talent, resources and what it can do.”

The Tigers have an opening on their staff after former defensive coordinator Bo Pelini was fired following one season. LSU is making several changes after going 5-5, a season after it went 15-0 and won the national championship.

Mason was fired by Vanderbilt after going 0-8 with the Commodores this year. He went 27-55 over seven seasons at Vandy.

Prior to becoming the Commodores’ head coach, Mason had never previously coached in the SEC. So, if he ends up taking the DC job at LSU, it’d be the first time that he’d be an assistant coach in the conference.

Although Mason has been in contact with the Tigers, Guilbeau reported that Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman is the “top candidate on Orgeron’s wish list.” Guilbeau noted that former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and former South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp are also candidates.

Whether or not Mason gets the job, it seems that he certainly has interest in heading to LSU.

“Anybody who’s anybody as far as a defensive coordinator and loves football would want to coach at LSU,” Mason told Guilbeau. “When you look at LSU, you can see top 10 talent. There are 10 or 11 programs in the country that have superior talent, and LSU is one of them.”