Follow The Leader

January has been a really good month if you're a Black man coaching major college football.

It has now been a little over a week since Derek Mason was quickly ushered in as the new head coach at Vanderbilt.  The former associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Stanford replaced James Franklin, who returned to his native Pennsylvania to become coach at Penn State.  This is where the degrees of separation get interesting.

For the first time in the history of Southeastern Conference football (and for that matter the entire Bowl Subdivision), a Black man HAS FOLLOWED another Black man as head coach of a program.  This is significant considering who the Phoenix, Arizona native was under prior to this appointment.  Mason, a former cornerback in his college playing days at Northern Arizona, worked with current Stanford skipper David Shaw for the past three years.  Yes, THAT David Shaw, who - if my calculations are correct - is one of THREE Black head coaches hired by Stanford, two of them (Tyrone WIllingham and Dennis Green) going on to be the first Black coach at other major FBS institutions, namely Notre Dame and Northwestern.

The pundits are probably wondering "how did this happen?"  A Black man following another Black man as head coach of a major college program is surely something that doesn't happen often, if at all.  But if you dig a little deeper, the hire will crystallize even further.  You see, there's also a Black athletic director at Vanderbilt, that being Vice Chancellor David Williams II, and he wasted no time in making sure that another Black man had the chance to guide the program.  Of course, there will be those that cry foul at this, saying other, more 'well-connected' coaches were more deserving of the position.  However, if I'm thinking like Williams is here, I am probably tired of that act, thereby pulling the quick trigger.

What is interesting to note about Mason's resume is that despite his defensive roots, he has excelled at coaching on both sides of the ball, including wide receiver tenures at Weber State, Utah, New Mexico State and Ohio.  Mason's pro turn as DB coach with the Minnesota Vikings from 2007-09 may also have been a factor in his appointment.  And it sure doesn't hurt that Mason's defensive genius helped put the Cardinal in the last four BCS postseasons, including the previous two Rose Bowls.

Not bad for a guy who brought a black-and-old-gold tie to his interview for the job.  You think the AD noticed?