On Wednesday, former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason was hired as the new head coach at Middle Tennessee State University.
For Mason, it’s a return to the college football head coaching sideline after spending a year as an analyst for the SEC Network.
“We are ecstatic to welcome Coach Derek Mason to Middle Tennessee and the Blue Raider football program,” said MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. “With his experience as a head coach, his reputation for coaching fast, aggressive defenses, his strong reputation as a recruiter, and deep connections in college football to formulate an outstanding staff, Coach Mason’s vision for MTSU football fits exactly what we were looking for during our interview process. Coach Mason is no stranger to the mid-state community and we expect his connections to allow him and his staff to hit the ground running as our 15th head football coach.”
Mason, who signed a five-year deal with MTSU, joins the Blue Raider with 29 years of coaching experience.
He began his collegiate coaching career in 1994 as the wide receivers coach at Mesa Community College. Then he moved to other programs including Idaho State, Utah, New Mexico State and Ohio before moving to the NFL as the assistant defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings (2007-09).
He returned to college football in 2010 as the defensive backs coach at Stanford before being promoted a year later to associate head coach/defensive coordinator. During his tenure there, he molded the Cardinal into one of the nation’s top defenses. In 2012, his defense set a new single-season sack record (57), was the Pac-12’s top defense in scoring, rushing and total defense, and that helped Stanford finish the season at 12-2, which included a Rose Bowl victory.
He left Stanford to become the head coach at Vanderbilt in 2014. After seven seasons, Mason was let go but stayed in college football, spending one season as Auburn’s defensive coordinator in 2021 before moving to Oklahoma State a year later in the same role. His time at both schools led to improved defenses at both programs.
Now he’s excited to lead C-USA program Middle Tennessee, which went 4-8 last season.
“I am excited to be the 15th head coach at MTSU,” said Mason. “This is an emotional moment for me. This is the house that Rick Stockstill built and he left good bones and a strong foundation. He did a lot to raise and encourage these young men and help them take the journey. Now, that responsibility has been passed down to me. It’s about winning and making sure we can do everything we can to resource our student athletes in a way to make them successful both on and off the field.
“It’s been an exhausting journey, but I appreciate Dr. McPhee and Chris Massaro for giving me this opportunity. Now we have to attack the challenge of Conference USA and I can’t wait to get started.”
