“Its impossible for anyone at Vandy to defend Derek Mason after this performance today”.
This is just one of many social media posts from a fan upset with head coach Derek Mason after the Vanderbilt loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday. Commodore Nation should be aware that there is far more involved in coaching a football team than a box score. Quality takes time. Here is what Derek Mason has done for the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Bowl Games > Integrity
Are bowl games and winning seasons more important than integrity? Saturday, September 17th was exactly two years and eight months since Coach Mason was hired. It was also the day you Vandy fans took to social media calling for his job. You professed your love for James Franklin. Some of you begged for a second coming. You remembered his three bowl games with stars in your eyes. Vandy fans, have you conveniently forgotten the ugly side of Franklin’s winning? Do you fail to recall the negative national media attention? In fact, because of that negative incident Vanderbilt no longer accepts JUCO transfers into the football program. Sadly, you have chosen bowl games over integrity whether you say it aloud or not. Meanwhile Mason is actively involved in MEND Experience Nashville. It’s a prevention initiative dedicated to ending violence against women by educating men. Commodore nation you need to pay attention.
Behind the eight ball
Furthermore, when Franklin fled Nashville he took a number of players with him. This left Mason with a program decimated by transfers and a recruiting class of de-commitments. He had three weeks to hire a staff and get a recruiting class together (at an SEC university with higher academic standards than most). At the same time, he was selling the advantages of rebuilding a football program with dated football facilities. The fact is Coach Mason had to overhaul the football program. He had to change the damaged culture of the past. Every day for the last 978 days, Mason has worked on his Vanderbilt program. He has laid a solid foundation. Mason is rebuilding the program the right way. He is coaching these athletes in life as well as football. Mason is teaching them to be great men, Vanderbilt Men.
Stats not printed in the box score
There was a wet and dismal Halloween game in the middle of the 2015 season. The Commodores traveled to Houston to take on the Cougars. Vandy could do nothing well on either side of the ball while enduring a torrential downpour that lasted the entire game. It was a brutal shutout. The greatest highlight of the night occurred after the game when the players, the Vanderbilt Men in Mason’s charge walked over to the stands and shook hands with every Vandy fan remaining. Every player shook hands and thanked each fan for coming out and supporting them. EVERY PLAYER. Mason is doing something right in that program. It is well-documented things happen and college kids make mistakes. There is no shortage of stories of players going awry. Vandy fans you need to take note: Vanderbilt has not had an arrest of a football player with Mason at the helm. He and his staff are doing something extraordinary. They are building a football team that you should be proud to support.
40-years not four
The off field achievements keep adding up. The Vanderbilt football team’s APR score of 990 ranked fifth among FBS programs, they also received NCAA Public Recognition Awards for finishing in the top 10 percent and in 2015, they had a perfect graduation success rate. The players started the summer with a new mission of adding at least 10 hours of community service to their list of required activities. They completed over 1,050 hours of community service for more than 70 organizations. Not to mention, Vanderbilt boasts the most comprehensive internship program in the SEC and the very first university in the country to have an NCAA sanctioned internship program for their student-athletes. In addition, this summer the Commodores added Operational Excellence, a unique player development program. The nine-week program taught the core elements of streamlined organizational effectiveness. Players learned how to reduce “lead” time and “eliminate waste” from any workplace, ultimately learning and applying the science of process efficiency. Another first in the country for the Vanderbilt athletic department. Mason has also added two critical new departments under his leadership. The Player Personnel Department is designed to better evaluate the incoming talent, help with roster management, and improve recruiting. The Player Development Department works alongside Mason to ensure these athletes are fully prepared for their 40-year futures, by offering guidance on everything off the field such as academics, personal, professional and community. Vanderbilt football is fully living up to its hash tag of 40not4, which they have been using in reference to investing in a 40-year future not just a 4-year future.
The SEC Look
When Mason first walked thru the McGugin Center to get to the football offices, meeting rooms, locker rooms and the weight room the walls were a drab yellowish beige. Mason immediately did some simple cosmetic work by adding awe-inspiring graphics. He then set his sights on renovating the outdated football locker room, meeting rooms and player lounges, as well as building a state of the art weight room and training room. The Vanderbilt football facility is still not at the level of the top-tier SEC programs but slowly Mason is making changes to help them compete in the world of first impressions.
The Brutal Facts
The fact is Derek Mason has made the Vanderbilt football program exponentially better in the last two years and eight months The behind the scenes progress can’t be read in a black and white win/loss column yet, but it will manifest its self on the field if it is given time to grow and to be nurtured. The attitudes are changing. The team confidence is growing. If Mason is fired now or after the season Vanderbilt is setting itself back another three to five years. Mason needs another 978 days to make a true impact on Vanderbilt football. Mason deserves more time. College football is a business. It is a brutal business. Coaches no longer have the luxury of building a program. That is a shame. Mason is motivating. He is influencing athletes to become more. Mason is coaching future community leaders. He is educating men to become great citizens who will change the world. Mason is building a great program and he is doing it the right way. Commodore Nation you need to calm down. Quality takes time. You need to pay attention to what Derek Mason has accomplished.
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