Derek Mason Reaction Thread

[RaiderDoug]

It would figure that the one time MT does something interesting in the last 10 years, I’m in France with a 6 hour delay and terrible internet connections to follow along:

Some more thoughts after chewing on this:

Pros: I think Mason is a good coach. I think he did well at Vandy. His teams were well coached, put guys in the NFL, and won against some major teams, and went to bowl games. I’m not sure you can reasonably expect more at Vandy, where the gap between Vandy and its conference rivals are probably bigger than any in any conference. I put little stock in his record (especially the Covid year). Rich Rod probably did less with more in his two stops at Michigan and Arizona than Mason did at Vandy, and RR is doing fine at JSU.

He is well respected and traveled in the industry, and should have connections to build a staff. He will play well on the recruiting trail and should make MT a portal player.

He is a name that casuals will know, and should generate some interest.

Cons: Smacks of low hanging fruit. An out of work guy already established in the mid-state? I could totally see Mason pitching how bad he wants to be here and how he sees this as a lifetime job and blah blah blah and that would seemingly be very attractive to M&M for some reason. Call me a cynic, but I could see how Mason would view this as the last job he’d ever have to take and M&M thinking that they’ve solved their problem for the long term. Pop the Champagne bottles!

I don’t want Mason here in 2029. He either wins big and moves back up, or he gets fired. There can be no more puttering along here. Win, and get promoted. Or GTFO. Ok, ok, if you just like Murfreesboro traffic and Toots and you want to stay, then you get one year added for every conference title. Otherwise, GTFO.

I also think that this is a hire that also smells a little bit of culture and off field importance rather than on field competitiveness. We already know the importance placed on APR and running a clean program with good kids. Mason, coming from Stanford and Vandy, very well could tout that to McPhee. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s noble and frankly, probably more in line with the spirit of college sports than anything. But it’s not the easiest road to athletic success. There’s room for both, but we can’t let APR become more important than W-L record.


Overall: I think it’s a good hire and I’m behind Mason.

I was never sold on some the other names. Banks and Mack were ok, probably about the same level of excitement as Mason. Banks is on thin ice with the UT fan base, and Mack is just a position coach with a rough stint as Rice OC on his record.

Walden I know only from his game vs UT where they showed some scrappy-ness but still got blown out by a mediocre UT team. Diaz would have been a home run I think, but I also think that he probably is a bit overrated, he didn’t do much at Miami ( and, if he was holding out for Duke, then I can totally see us moving on to Mason, can’t wait forever.)

The most interesting name on the interview list was the SMU OC.

 

[blueraiderJT]

I’ve never heard of Scotty Walden until about 3 weeks ago when he somehow morphed into the reincarnation of Vince Lombardi.

I dunno if he is a good coach. I’m not sure an FCS coach would get casuals excited.

Either way, I think we did well with Mason. I think we’ll win more games in the next 4 years than UTEP.

Mason is not an upgrade in my opinion.

Failed Head Coach since 2018 after going 6-6 and dancing on TV about it.

2019- won 3
2020- won 0
2021 - won 6 as a DC with Auburn giving up 373 yards a game while MT gave up 368
2022 - won 7 as a DC with OK st. giving up 441 yards a game while MT gave up 413

Walden is young but at 34, he's already well respected in the coaching community and is energetic. He connects with the community and youth. He nearly filled APSU's stadium with only a 10,000 capacity each game. Not easy to do for an FCS. We could barely get 8-9k a game for FBS. Even though he isn't well known to folks like you, he would have put in the work to be well known and that's the key. He's not even at UTEP yet and he's working the community. He has a motor and will generate excitement. UTEP was bowl eligible in 2021 with more wins than us in the regular season and won 5 in 2022. He can win there and he will. We are gonna find out.

He won 9 games with little to no resources. Another important piece to this for me. That's why I liked the guy for the job. The upside is huge.

Mason had millions and couldn't move the needle. Walden was worth rolling the dice on way more than a failed SEC coach retread. But that's me. I understand even passing up on Walden but passing up Mack or Jones Jr.? Nah. Don't get that at all. Even at their positions, they have been way more successful with more upside. Both Jones Jr and Mack are top recruiters with Memphis TN coaching ties which is important. Mack was even more succussful than Walden as a HC with NCCU having won a Meac title. Talk about little to noe resources. LOL. APSU looks like BAMA in comparison.

This is just my 2 cents but this hire is gonna sting for a while. I'm happy to eat my words. I'm not gonna give to the BRAA or buy season tix with this hire but if they do something, I might next year. With Mack or Walden, I was prepared to give a couple thousand and even do some ad buys to promote my company with MT. Not because Mack, Jones Jr. or Walden were well known but because it would have shown outside the box thinking with new blood. Mason feels like an obviously lazy hire. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[RaiderDoug]

Mason is not an upgrade in my opinion.

Failed Head Coach since 2018 after going 6-6 and dancing on TV about it.

2019- won 3
2020- won 0
2021 - won 6 as a DC with Auburn giving up 373 yards a game while MT gave up 368
2022 - won 7 as a DC with OK st. giving up 441 yards a game while MT gave up 413

Walden is young but at 34, he's already well respected in the coaching community and is energetic and connects with the community and youth. He nearly filled APSU's stadium with a 10,000 capacity each game.

He won 9 games with little to no resources. Mason had millions and couldn't move the needle. He was worth rolling the dice on way more than a failed SEC coach retread. But that's me. I understand even passing up on Walden but passing up Mack or Jones Jr.? Nah. Don't get that at all.

Fair points. I put little stock in his record at Vandy. but others might.

At this level, there are no guarantees.

Mack, Jones Jr - never head coaches. Only one of them was even a coordinator. And it went badly.

Walden - There’s very little that translates from FCS to FBS. He could be good. He could be Will Healy the sequel.

Every coach that we reasonably could have hired, we can easily sit here and poke holes in the resume. That’s the nature of living at the bottom end of FBS at this point.

If I’m being completely honest, if you look at the football scoop list of names we allegedly interviewed, I’d probably have picked Mason as well.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Vandy sucks. It’s a dead end job.

I’m having to completely ignore the record because it was … well. Vandy.

That is one way to look at it. Another is name a Vandy head coach that left Vandy to go on to do better than he did at Vandy? I think Franklin may be the only one and we know he was a sleaze bucket but I think that's it in like 40 years. At least I think so.

Also, to be fair, Vandy does not support it's football team. That has been obvious since day 1 as a 50 year old Nashville native. So I get it. I hope I'm dead wrong guys. I really do. I'm not being an A-hole just to be one. I had high hopes and maybe that was a big part of the problem. I don't know. Again, I hope Mason wins 12 games and points at me in the stadium when he dances like a crazy person.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Fair points. I put little stock in his record at Vandy. but others might.

At this level, there are no guarantees.

Mack, Jones Jr - never head coaches. Only one of them was even a coordinator. And it went badly.

Walden - There’s very little that translates from FCS to FBS. He could be good. He could be Will Healy the sequel.

Every coach that we reasonably could have hired, we can easily sit here and poke holes in the resume. That’s the nature of living at the bottom end of FBS at this point.

If I’m being completely honest, if you look at the football scoop list of names we allegedly interviewed, I’d probably have picked Mason as well.

Mack was a HC at NCCU from 2014-17. He won a Meac title and had a winning record in each season. He was at Rice which is as bad as Vandy when it comes to supporting it's team.

 

[blueraiderJT]

Fair points. I put little stock in his record at Vandy. but others might.

At this level, there are no guarantees.

Mack, Jones Jr - never head coaches. Only one of them was even a coordinator. And it went badly.

Walden - There’s very little that translates from FCS to FBS. He could be good. He could be Will Healy the sequel.

Every coach that we reasonably could have hired, we can easily sit here and poke holes in the resume. That’s the nature of living at the bottom end of FBS at this point.

If I’m being completely honest, if you look at the football scoop list of names we allegedly interviewed, I’d probably have picked Mason as well.

Very true. I get it. I really do. That's why you get a guy with little history in that scenario. It's way more rosier than a re tread on the down slope. It's hard to put down a 34 year old who just won 9 games with great energy and is well respected in the community. UTEP fans are very happy right now because it's new blood. You don't revive a corpse with old blood. Any vampire movie will tell you that. LOL.

I'm also a "roll the dice on the younger guy" type of dude. MT needs new blood. But we shall see.

 

[MidTennMtneer]

It all comes down to this.

Was he my first choice, no. Heck, he wasn't even on any list. Call that good or bad, doesn't matter. We asked for change, we got it. Could it go down in flames, absolutely. Could it succeed and we win 10 games by year two, absolutely. We literally have zero idea. No idea who is staff is, etc.

I wanted change and we got it. So now until I'm given a reason not to through results on the field, I'm going to support him. Stay in BRAA, donate to BuildBlue when I can, and go to games. I'll be at TN Tech. It should be a great crowd. Local team, new coach, construction going on, etc. Let's at least give him a chance until we are given a reason not to. For all we know he worked certain improvements in to his contract. Or a good assistant pool. Only time will tell.

That's 1/2 cent worth on it.

 

[RaiderDoug]

Mack was a HC at NCCU from 2014-17. He won a Meac title and had a winning record in each season. He was at Rice which is as bad as Vandy when it comes to supporting it's team.

Correct. FCS though.

Honestly, there was never going to be a candidate without warts at this level.

So, really, it’s what you prefer. I don’t put much stock in FCS. Others might, and that’s fair.

The real key is if we can get out of it if it goes badly, and what we get if he succeeds and leaves. We’ll have to see the contract.

 

[MTFAN61]

There's an old saying, "easiest path to least resistance". Bingo! Nothing sums up Massaro & McPhee better than that. Everything else was a smokescreen. When the pressure was on to do something this was the easiest path to least resistance for a new hire. All the other candidates already had a job. That means to go after anyone else we would have to compete against another institution. Well screw that!! With hiring Mason our administration didn't have to worry about working or competing against anyone. Nobody was looking for Mason because he was already on sabattical from his past failures anyway. Dude doesn't even have to move. Why make life hard now when the two M&M's have spent the last 15+ years doing all they can to produce the least amount of results possible. Pretty smart fellas.

 

[Brew_Raider]

The real key is if we can get out of it if it goes badly, and what we get if he succeeds and leaves. We’ll have to see the contract.

Even if it’s a trainwreck, Mason will be here for at least 4 or 5 years. Massro would never pull the trigger in the first 3 years even if it’s the worst stretch in program’s history.

At least we have a good measuring stick for improvement since Stock was here so long. Rick was going to win 5 or 6 wins in 2024 with that schedule. If Mason is at 7+ in year one, he’s trending in the right direction.

 

[MTFAN61]

I think on the day McPhee told Massaro Rick had to go he knew exactly what he was doing. We're being silly if we don't think McPhee had Mason pegged from the very start. Probably been in the works for months. Anyway, like the rest of you we have to give him benefit of the doubt now. I know one thing there's no way his offensive line can be any worse than what we've had in the past.

 

[Brew_Raider]

…..,. We're being silly if we don't think McPhee had Mason pegged from the very start. Probably been in the works for months….

That would not surprise me. McPhee and Massaro are comfortable and coasting to retirement. They are not going to hire a young buck that will rock the boat, want changes in the AD that would make the long-time staff uncomfortable, and we already know him.

Hey, here’s this nice guy that will fit right in! He doesn’t even need to move and we don’t have to pay a buyout to get him here.

 

[blueraiderJT]

I think on the day McPhee told Massaro Rick had to go he knew exactly what he was doing. We're being silly if we don't think McPhee had Mason pegged from the very start. Probably been in the works for months. Anyway, like the rest of you we have to give him benefit of the doubt now. I know one thing there's no way his offensive line can be any worse than what we've had in the past.

I agree. Mason's name was never brought up in any search. The timing of letting Stock go. They won 2 bowl games back to back in 21-22 and talked him up like crazy at the start of the season with a murderer's row type of front loaded schedule. Then out of nowhere, they announce he's gone. It feels very forced. I could be very wrong but it feels like that.

 

[Brew_Raider]

It would be kinda funny if someone gave the press conference the Gene Chizik to Auburn treatment.

Heckling Chizik

 

[Hop45]

Last week, we were worried we might get the Gamecocks QB coach's secretary. Instead, we got a former SEC head coach. I'm willing to give it a chance and see how it plays out.

 

[blueraiderJT]

It would be kinda funny if someone gave the press conference the Gene Chizik to Auburn treatment.

Heckling Chizik

I really don't think anyone really cares that much.

 

[MTLynn]

It would be kinda funny if someone gave the press conference the Gene Chizik to Auburn treatment.

Heckling Chizik

Mason may have a run akin to Chizik's, but it feels more like suckstill 2.0 (or watson brown 2.0, considering that he is a vandy castoff) and a huge waste of money.

Gene Chizik - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[crposton]

Correct. FCS though.

Honestly, there was never going to be a candidate without warts at this level.

So, really, it’s what you prefer. I don’t put much stock in FCS. Others might, and that’s fair.

The real key is if we can get out of it if it goes badly, and what we get if he succeeds and leaves. We’ll have to see the contract.

Why don’t you put much stock in FCS? It is football. Lance Leipold made the jump from DIII to Buffalo and now has Kansas trending up. Really good coaches come from lower levels all the time. I put stock in winning. Top tier FCS is basically the same as us. In back-to-back years we lost to 3 first year FBS teams. JMU is going with a successful FCS coach. I trust their admin to make the right decision over ours. In fact he has never coached at the FBS level in any capacity.

 

[crposton]

Took a deeper dive into Mason’s FBS wins at Vandy. He had 21 wins over FBS opponents. Of those 21 wins, 9 of them cane from teams that finished above .500 and 3 others from teams that finished 6-6. 5 more wins from 5-7 SEC teams. He didn’t just beat the bottom teams. Still not super excited, but it just may turn out okay.

 

[DoubleRRaider]

Here's some Game Grade metrics on Derek Mason's most recent coaching stops.

Essentially, several game stats are factored in including yardage differential, turnover margin, yardage per play differential, opponent adjustments, pace adjustments, and scoring margin, among others. Depending on how dominant the team’s statistical performance was, they are graded on a scale of 1 to 100. Then, the raw score is adjusted for the opponent’s strength. Looking at other P5 like a Michigan or Bama, a team can receive a grade over 100, or how a near-perfect game can fall below 100 if the opponent was weak.

At Vandy his defense's for the most part held up their end of the bargain when playing games against similar talent. What worries me most if the drop off in production after the first year. Like many in here have echoed, I'm hoping he's able to build a competent staff. He has my support until otherwise.

 

[MTBlueMan]

Yes it changes how attractive the job is. Do you just think we should settle for mediocrity because we are Middle Tennessee State?

Ugh, come on. Thanks not at all my point.

Of course I would've loved to have the best coach possible take the job but the admin has settled for mediocrity for so long that they have put us in a position where we shouldn't expect anything other than mediocrity.

 

[Sommy]

Let's Recap and Summarize this for everyone just hearing we hired Mason:

Mason - 7 years head coaching experience, ZERO winning seasons and a .33 Winning %
Stockstill - 18 years head coaching experience, 10 winning seasons and a .50 Winning %

Why would we make a change if that is what we move to? I'll support Mason, but there is potentially LESS excitement in 2024 based on those numbers. I will watch and root on the team, but I don't have any more excitement than I did under Stockstill. Mason has to earn my interest in the program at this point.

I am excited for the change, but not who we ended up with (not yet).

 

[MTLynn]

Let's Recap and Summarize this for everyone just hearing we hired Mason:

Mason - 7 years head coaching experience, ZERO winning seasons and a .33 Winning %
Stockstill - 18 years head coaching experience, 10 winning seasons and a .50 Winning %

Why would we make a change if that is what we move to? I'll support Mason, but there is potentially LESS excitement in 2024 based on those numbers. I will watch and root on the team, but I don't have any more excitement than I did under Stockstill. Mason has to earn my interest in the program at this point.

Yeah, it looks like watson brown 2.0

 

[ewglenn]

Let's Recap and Summarize this for everyone just hearing we hired Mason:

Mason - 7 years head coaching experience, ZERO winning seasons and a .33 Winning %
Stockstill - 18 years head coaching experience, 10 winning seasons and a .50 Winning %

Why would we make a change if that is what we move to? I'll support Mason, but there is potentially LESS excitement in 2024 based on those numbers. I will watch and root on the team, but I don't have any more excitement than I did under Stockstill. Mason has to earn my interest in the program at this point.

I am excited for the change, but not who we ended up with (not yet).

The fact he had a 33% winning percentage at Vandy is impressive. That place is a bigger train wreck than here. Obviously I’m joking but I throw out that record because they really don’t belong in the SEC. The next worst job in the SEC is probably Missouri and that’s light years ahead of Vandy.

 

[DoubleRRaider]

Let's Recap and Summarize this for everyone just hearing we hired Mason:

Mason - 7 years head coaching experience, ZERO winning seasons and a .33 Winning %
Stockstill - 18 years head coaching experience, 10 winning seasons and a .50 Winning %

Why would we make a change if that is what we move to? I'll support Mason, but there is potentially LESS excitement in 2024 based on those numbers. I will watch and root on the team, but I don't have any more excitement than I did under Stockstill. Mason has to earn my interest in the program at this point.

I am excited for the change, but not who we ended up with (not yet).

I don't think it's fair to judge any coach's tenure at Vandy given the academic restraints. During his time at VU his teams averaged a talent composite of 609.6 while the rest of the SEC avg was well above 720.0.

VU's roster was mid level 3 stars while the rest of the conference had significantly higher recruits.

 

[Sommy]

I don't think it's fair to judge any coach's tenure at Vandy given the academic restraints. During his time at VU his teams averaged a talent composite of 609.6 while the rest of the SEC avg was well above 720.0.

VU's roster was mid level 3 stars while the rest of the conference had significantly higher recruits.

Well other teams seem to have not dismissed his record. He did not have any other HC jobs since then and only two DC opportunities that were one and done at each place. When MT hired him he didn't seem to have any other coaching opportunities that anyone is aware of.

I don't buy the dismissing of Vandy's record. At least show some progress, but his last year at Vandy, he didn't have ANY wins before he was canned. So that is the opposite of progress. I just don't see how this was the best we could do. He could have been our DC, that would be fine, but the HC ?????

 

[Brew_Raider]

Well other teams seem to have not dismissed his record. He did not have any other HC jobs since then and only two DC opportunities that were one and done at each place. When MT hired him he didn't seem to have any other coaching opportunities that anyone is aware of.

I don't buy the dismissing of Vandy's record. At least show some progress, but his last year at Vandy, he didn't have ANY wins before he was canned. So that is the opposite of progress. I just don't see how this was the best we could do. He could have been our DC, that would be fine, but the HC ?????

There’s a reason.

If you tried to hire him at any P5 school with his current resume, you would have a fan revolt and the AD might get canned.

MT is one of a handful of G5 schools that would even consider him as a HC. Probably could pull it off in FCS without a revolt too.

He may turn out to be a great HC for us. However, we are trying to sell excitement for a hire that would be deemed unacceptable and not even considered by at least 2/3, if not more, of our division.

Thats the sad narrative of MT with M&M in charge.

 

[MTOleBlue]

I think you guys are a little bit extreme with how you think the general CFB fan community looks at Mason. The general consensus I've seen is that he is a good hire and quality coach, and I agree with them.

 

[Brew_Raider]

I think you guys are a little bit extreme with how you think the general CFB fan community looks at Mason. The general consensus I've seen is that he is a good hire and quality coach, and I agree with them.

If he was a good hire, then why no HC offers after being fired at Vandy besides us? He was linked to no other HC jobs during that time.

Do you think he would be considered for any P5 job? Do you think Liberty, App State, WKU would hire him?

I am honestly not trying to be argumentative or Debbie downer, but I believe we just hired someone that almost none of the 130+ FBS schools would even consider. And in many cases the AD would get fired for trying to hire him.

He might turn out to be great, but I’ve yet to see some actual evidence that someone can point to that he will be a good HC.

 

[MT01]

All you gripers, we are freakin' MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY. We're not gonna get a sexy hire. Lots of talk that this would be a great opportunity for an up and coming coach.

REALLY?

Subpar facilities, a craptastic administration, an empty stadium, a program on life support, and a student body without a pulse.

Sounds like a really tough sell to me. Maybe Walden was offered the job and said, "heck no!"

Take off your blue-tinted sunglasses and just be glad they didn't hire a high school coach.

I’m sorry but that’s the little middle losing mindset in your head talking. Except for the leadership part. That is true.

From ESPN. Es-freakin-pn - not some local rag…

Coaches have viewed Middle Tennessee in recent years as a unpolished gem, as Nashville's metro area has expanded toward Murfreesboro. The school has competed in FBS football since 1999 and has 10 bowl appearances and two conference championships. In a reconfigured Conference USA, Middle Tennessee is considered one of the better jobs.

And yet this is the best our “leadership” can do. What institution would keep a .500 coach for two decades? What institution would replace him with a .330 coach? We are obviously the only one. Potential goes out the window when you have leadership with bird brains.

 

[RaiderDeez]

Do you think he would be considered for any P5 job? Do you think Liberty, App State, WKU would hire him?

I tend to agree. And after flaming out in 1 season each at Auburn and Ok State as a DC, I would only think a G5 DC position would be where he would fit next, not a HC. Or maybe an HC at an FCS or lower.

 

[BRaiderDave]

I think you guys are a little bit extreme with how you think the general CFB fan community looks at Mason. The general consensus I've seen is that he is a good hire and quality coach, and I agree with them.

Most of you will say that I am a negative cuss, and with good reason. However, I’m not gonna write off this hire today just because his record at Vandy was crap. Hell, he is undefeated against Stockstill and won three straight games against Tennessee. Not to mention taking Vandy to almost one third of their all time bowl appearances. I think we’ll play some damn good defense and who is to say he doesn’t hire an OC who will fling it all over the yard like WKU and Liberty does. I’m going to give the man a chance. Even McPhee is capable of doing something right every once in a while. Let’s see if this is one of those.

 

[MTOleBlue]

If he was a good hire, then why no HC offers after being fired at Vandy besides us? He was linked to no other HC jobs during that time.

Do you think he would be considered for any P5 job? Do you think Liberty, App State, WKU would hire him?

I am honestly not trying to be argumentative or Debbie downer, but I believe we just hired someone that almost none of the 130+ FBS schools would even consider. And in many cases the AD would get fired for trying to hire him.

He might turn out to be great, but I’ve yet to see some actual evidence that someone can point to that he will be a good HC.

He voluntarily left his position at OK State to refocus. It's not like he spent this past year calling up every school that might have an opening and begging them to hire him. As far as I am aware, this was his first interview in a long time.

 

[Tyler Pellom]

He voluntarily left his position at OK State to refocus. It's not like he spent this past year calling up every school that might have an opening and begging them to hire him. As far as I am aware, this was his first interview in a long time.

I tend to think he probably wanted to stay in the mid state and as such was likely back-channeling his interest in this job before it officially became available

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

MTBlueMan -
I've been thinking about your post from last night and I think you are dead on. I hated to agree with your post but the admin has really sunk our program to a hard sell to an up and comer or enthusiastic coach.

I don't know if Mason is the answer but what wasn't the answer was Rick Stockstill and what has been done to the program over the last 13 years. It has decimated any fan support and interaction.

Mason seems to really want the job and for that, I pray that he has success beyond measure. Find the right players and coordinators and get out of this funk that the program is in.

We are who we are. M & M have allowed it to get this way so the ownership is on them.

Welcome Derek...can't wait to meet you on fan day. It's been over 10 years since I've been.

All you gripers, we are freakin' MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY. We're not gonna get a sexy hire. Lots of talk that this would be a great opportunity for an up and coming coach.

REALLY?

Subpar facilities, a craptastic administration, an empty stadium, a program on life support, and a student body without a pulse.

Sounds like a really tough sell to me. Maybe Walden was offered the job and said, "heck no!"

Take off your blue-tinted sunglasses and just be glad they didn't hire a high school coach.

 

[Brew_Raider]

He voluntarily left his position at OK State to refocus. It's not like he spent this past year calling up every school that might have an opening and begging them to hire him. As far as I am aware, this was his first interview in a long time.

He said in the introductory press conference, that when he realized he had a chance for this job, he wanted it. He wanted to win the job.

I think that speaks volumes. Most places wouldn’t give him the chance.

 

[MTOleBlue]

Quote: "Prior to his 7-year stint at Vanderbilt, Mason served as the defensive coordinator on BCS-bound Stanford teams. He returned to a defensive coordinator role after his firing from Vanderbilt, leading Auburn to the 27th ranked scoring defense in 2021 and Oklahoma State to the 9th ranked scoring defense in 2022."

 

[Brew_Raider]

If he has more than 36 total wins or a conference championship in 5 years I will gladly eat crow that he was an improvement on Stockstill.

Hope he is successful.

 

[BlueraiderSC]

Does anyone know what bowl game(s) Coach is calling this bowl season? Would really like to hear what he has to say.

 

[SpaceRaider]

I know we'll never get it, but I would love to know the timeline of events in this process, who contacted whom first, and when.

Mason is now the coach, and I hope he proves me and other serious doubters wrong. I heard the word "Championship" from all three of the 3M boys. Credibility is strained there. Hopeful, but not taken by the pep rally style intro that comes with a new coach.

Mason has a lot to overcome, and I wish him well. I wish he did not have the worse President/AD combo in FBS to look to for support. If Mason makes it to the end of '28 he will have new bosses here, that is almost a certainty.

He may not have won at Vandy but in comparison to our former coach, I am sure he would not have won near as much as Mason. Mason is an upgrade, how much of one remains to be seen.

I want Middle Tennessee to win an outright conference championship, something not seen here ever in the FBS era and three decades for the program's history. I would like to see it while I am around to appreciate it.

Go Blue!