Derek Mason (born September 29, 1969) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach who is currently the head football coach for

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

. He previously served as head coach at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

from 2014 to 2020.

Early life and playing career

Mason attended Camelback High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. After graduating from high school, he attended

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

, where he was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at cornerback.

Coaching career

After his playing career ended, Mason coached college football at

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the Unite ...

, Weber State, Bucknell,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, St. Mary's,

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. From 2007 to 2009, he coached defensive backs for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

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under

Brad Childress Brad Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 1994 ...

, 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 Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. In 2011, Mason was promoted to associate

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

and co-

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

under new head coach David Shaw. In 2012, Mason became the sole defensive coordinator for the Cardinal and was a finalist for the

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little ...

, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football. In 2013, the defensive coordinator position was

endowed A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

and named the Willie Shaw Director of Defense,

Vanderbilt

On January 17, 2014, Vanderbilt hired Mason as its new head football coach, succeeding James Franklin. With the hire, Vanderbilt is the first and only school in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(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. The Commodores struggled offensively for much of the season. Vanderbilt did not score an offensive touchdown for nine quarters and was the last Division I team to reach the end zone on offense. With victories over Charleston Southern and Old Dominion, he finished the season with a 3–9 record. 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 Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, to run the offense. Mason decided to call the defensive plays himself. His second season saw moderate growth for Vanderbilt, culminating in a 4–8 record with numerous firsts for the young head coach. Mason earned his first win against an SEC opponent (10–3 victory over

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

) and his first win while on the road (17–13 victory over

). The team was praised for a nationally respected defensive scheme, but the Commodores were unable to perform equally well with their offensive or special team capabilities. Mason continued his role as head coach and defensive coordinator in his third season at Vanderbilt, leading the Commodores to a 6–6 (3–5 SEC) record in 2016, earning bowl eligibility for the first time as a head coach. Mason won his first SEC road game on October 15 at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

by the final score of 17–16. The Commodores nearly picked up another road win against a ranked conference opponent on November 5 at Auburn, losing 23–16 after throwing a late interception at the opponents' 30 yard line in the final minute. After a disappointing loss to

the next week, the Commodores needed to beat both

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

at home in the team's final two games of the season to assure themselves of bowl eligibility, though they would have still reached a bowl with a 5–7 record based on a high Academic Performance Rating (APR), which determines the bowl eligibility of five win teams for open bowl slots. APR became a non-factor as the Commodores upset both Ole Miss and Tennessee at home in back-to-back games to end the regular season with a 6–6 record on the strength of three conference wins. Vandy scored a combined 83 points in the two wins as the offense came alive late in the season. Mason's dancing on the sideline and post-game celebration after defeating Tennessee were widely shared on Twitter and ESPN. Under Mason, redshirt junior linebacker Zach Cunningham became a national finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best collegiate linebacker. He was Mason's first player at Vanderbilt to be a consensus All-American. Year four for Mason was a disappointing regression in the 2017 season. Despite an historic 3–0 start, including defeating a then 18th ranked Kansas State at home in week 3 and ending a five-year losing streak of opening games since 2012, the Commodores finished 5–7 and were unable to play in a bowl game despite APR. Derek Mason was unable to answer the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

in week 4 with a 59–0 loss, and experienced a five-game losing streak until defeating

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

31–17 in week 10. However, despite their lackluster performance, Vanderbilt was able to defeat

, ensuring the Volunteers' first ever eight-loss season. The 2018 season began with Mason considered on the hot seat, one of 10 coaches identified by ESPN to be facing this challenge. He earned significant conference victories over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

. He is the first Vanderbilt football coach to beat the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

three years in a row since Dan McGugin did it in 1924, 1925, and 1926. Vanderbilt went 6–6 in the regular season and earned a spot in the

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replace ...

, where they lost 45–38 to Baylor. The 2019 season saw significant regression for Vanderbilt and Mason. The team scored ten points or less in six of their 12 games. The team went 3–9, with the lone conference victory coming in a 21–14 upset against

. During the COVID-19-shortened conference-only 2020 season, Mason helped the program make history by introducing Sarah Fuller, the school's women's soccer goalkeeper, into a November 28 game against

. Fuller was the first woman to play in a game for a

Power Five conference The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

team, kicking off the second half, although Fuller never got a chance to kick a field goal or an extra point that day with Vanderbilt falling to Missouri 41–0 and 0–8 on the season. Fuller's appearance was not enough to offset seven consecutive seasons with a losing record, and the next day Mason was fired. Partially due to the COVID-19-shortened season, Mason became the first coach in school history to go winless in a season.

Auburn

On January 7, 2021, Mason was hired as the Auburn Tigers’ defensive coordinator.

Oklahoma State

On January 26, 2022, it was announced that Mason was hired as the next defensive coordinator for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

after the departure of previous defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Mason would not return for the following season.

Middle Tennessee

Mason was announced as the 15th head coach of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team on December 6, 2023. Mason coached the Blue Raiders to a 3–9 mark in the 2024 season.

Personal life

Mason and his wife, LeighAnne, have two daughters, Sydney and Makenzie. Makenzie was a

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

player for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Head coaching record

*Fired after 8 games.

References

External links

Coaching statistics
at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Derek 1969 births Living people American football cornerbacks Bucknell Bison football coaches Mesa Thunderbirds football coaches Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football coaches Minnesota Vikings coaches New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football players Ohio Bobcats football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Saint Mary's Gaels football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches Utah Utes football coaches Idaho State Bengals football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Weber State Wildcats football coaches Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona Coaches of American football from Arizona African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen