After spending the 2022 season as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason didn’t get a coaching job in the ensuing offseason. But now it appears he has a job for the 2023 season.
According to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, Mason will be an analyst for the SEC Network this coming season. It will be Mason’s first media job.
Mason has been a coach at either the college or professional level since 1994. His longest stint was as head coach at Vanderbilt between 2014 and 2020, during which he led the Commodores to two bowl games.
Unfortunately, Mason’s tenure at Vanderbilt ended on a very sour note as he was fired during the pandemic-affected 2020 season after an 0-8 start – the first winless season for a coach in the program’s history.
Mason went 27-55 in his eight seasons at Vanderbilt.
Former Vanderbilt coach/Oklahoma State DC Derek Mason will be an analyst on SEC Network games this fall
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 9, 2023
The year after being fired at Vanderbilt, Mason took the defensive coordinator job at Auburn. He lasted one year there before being hired at Oklahoma State.
Other jobs on Mason’s CV include the Minnesota Vikings, Stanford, Ohio, New Mexico State, Saint Mary’s, Utah, Bucknell, Idaho State, Weber State and Mesa Community College.
Will Mason find a permanent niche in broadcast media?