Vanderbilt announces Derek Mason has been fired, names interim coach
The Derek Mason era is over at Vanderbilt.
The program made the decision on Sunday following Vanderbilt’s 41-0 loss to Missouri on Saturday.
Vanderbilt, 0-8 on the season to date, is the only winless team in the Southeastern Conference.
With Mason out, Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Todd Fitch has been named interim coach.
Vandy AD Candice Storey Lee issued the following statement following the news:
“On behalf of the entire Vanderbilt community, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Coach Mason for his many years of dedication and service leading our football program,” Lee said. “Derek cares deeply about the student-athletes under his charge. His tenure at Vanderbilt will be remembered for his steadfast commitment to our student-athletes, not only on the field, but in the classroom and as young people.”
Now in his seventh season at Vanderbilt, Mason had yet to lead the program to a winning record. His overall record with the program finishes at 27-54.
During his time in Nashville, Vanderbilt did make two bowl games (the 2016 Independence Bowl and the 2018 Texas Bowl) but the Commodores lost each postseason game. The highlight of Mason’s tenure came when he defeated Tennessee three seasons in a row, the first Vanderbilt coach to do so dating back to the 1920s.
SDS will have more on this developing story
Mason went woke and went broke anyway. Lols
It’s so cringy how rednecks use the word woke. That being said I’m glad Mason’s publicity stunt didn’t work. Vandy is an eye sore.
The left uses it as a symbol of pride Americans use it as an insult.
Apparently you don’t know that people on the left are just as American as people on the right. Different views and opinions are part of being “American”.
Are you on the spectrum?
bulitbybama, what’s cringy is your bigoted use of the word redneck. Vandy will still be an eyesore.
The squib kick didn’t save his job?!
Fla if they decide to part ways with 3rd and Grantham should look at him. With what they have in talent. Mason’s a good DC.
It was like the media built this up into a major storm….and all we got was a squirt. I figured it would at least be on a PAT…wait…no Ts for a PA. What about punts? They had several shots at that.
The low hanging fruit would be to poke fun at Vandy’s publicity stunt with the kicker.
I actually like Derek Mason and hope he gets picked up and finds success with another program.
I’ve always respected mason as a coach and defended him regularly on here. Saban is getting muschump and mason as qc analysts.
I agree with your comments and wish him success at his next stop. He may not have piled up the wins, but he ran a clean program and I respect that.
Coach is a good and honest man. You could see in his Zoom yesterday that he already knew this was happening. My wife started to cry when she saw him speaking with what looked like a tear in his eye.
The next head coach will almost assuredly not be a savior. Nobody that can be a great coach wants this job with all the liabilities it now has.
Please Vanderbilt, do not replace Coach Mason. Announce that this is the final season of scholarship athletics and move to D3. Show the sports world that you will no longer pimp the hard-working student-athletes for the SEC welfare check that you do not really contribute revenue toward the pot.
If you are going to continue the travesty of playing SEC football for the fat check, then at least commit to the Academy style and try to get Jeff Monken from Army. The Wright kid might be a star running the inverted wishbone, and the Pryor kid would make for a great dive back. Multiple undersized receivers could be slot backs, and the below SEC average offensive linemen can thrive with double team blocks. Yes, Ken Seals will transfer, but there’s no assurance that he will stay any way unless Fitch becomes the full-time head coach, which would be a huge mistake that has already failed twice at Vanderbilt in the last 25 years.
Vanderbilt is too good at baseball to consider leaving the SEC. The best starting pitcher for the world series champion LA Dodgers wouldn’t like this idea one bit.
What are they gonna do when Tim Corbin retires?
Vandy women just won the SEC championship in soccer. They don’t just play football.
Baseball, soccer, softball….come on the money sports begin with football and end with basketball. These are the ones that shape your national sports image. They wont, and cant afford, to give up the SEC money yet a better fit is join the Big East for basketball.
Derek Mason is about to become an even bigger favorite of the left in this country. He was already a hero for playing Sarah Fuller. Now he’ll be an even bigger hero to them, because he’s clearly being fired because of his race, not his record.
Why the f#ck is this a political thing with you idiots? A freaking girl kicked a football, and every conservative in America sh!t their diaper over it.
I don’t think there’s ever been a more sensitive, thin-skinned bunch of whiny babies in the history of mankind. It’s as comical as it is pathetic.
GROW UP.
Take a pill. Go for a long walk. Maybe pet a puppy. You are seriously wound up.
I just am stunned at how these guys are so upset about a girl kicking a ball. They’ve literally turned it into a liberal conspiracy theory.
No kickers were available. They took a national champion soccer player and asked her to fill in for a couple games. Now, every conservative is having a full on meltdown as they envision the entire football team being replaced by women just because it’s PC and stuff.
I wonder if it’s painful to be so stupid? How do these folks make it through a bowl of captain crunch without accidentally drowning themselves?
I really thought Sarah Fuller would give Mason at least one more season. Really surprising. This is the 4th or 5th coach who’s been fired after losing to Mizzou.
You better win Kirby……
You are a world class idiot if you genuinely believed that the brass at Vandy were second guessing themselves because of Sarah Fuller.
You’re really out of control.
Oh yeah? You’ve been moaning about Mason pulling a PR stunt to save his job because them libs at vandy couldn’t possibly fire him….turns out he was immediately fired despite your ravings and conspiracy theories.
You could just admit that you’re a stooge and was wrong…
As the coaching search begins for Vandy, I……..I got nothin.
Florida should bring him in and give him a job, or as a “consultant”. I don’t see him getting picked up as a HC by any D1 program, he honestly hasn’t had any sort of success outside of his Stanford DC stint. Derek’s daughter played lacrosse at Florida, so he has some history with the University. Mason is a high character, positive influence guy. He has nearly always given UF, regardless of who is coaching, fits. He would be a great fit at UF, his ability to take kids that were borderline D1 players and coach them up to a level where they can compete at the highest level of CFB fits inline with Mullen. He would also serve as a yang to Mullens yin, his demeanour is a polar opposite to Dan’s. He is measured and calm, something Mullen is far from. At some point Dan is going to have to move on from Grantham, and Derek is a very attractive option.
Mason might just be a DC nothing wrong with that not ever one can be an HC. He is a very astute defensive mind I can see an SEc school snatching him up as their dc.
I hate to see him go. He was a good coach, but it’s not easy to win at Vanderbilt. He’ll undoubtedly get picked back up to coach defense by the time we hit the offseason. Hopefully he lands at Bama.