It isn’t surprising that Vanderbilt is moving on from head coach Derek Mason. After a 41-0 loss to Missouri, the Commodores dropped to 0-8 on the season. Vanderbilt is the worst football program in the SEC. This vacancy will not attract the same attention that somewhere like South Carolina will this off-season, but James Franklin showed that you can have some success at Vandy.
The question that everybody is asking is who will they go after? They should go after somebody who has had success at a smaller school, had experience at a bigger school, and rebounded after learning from the mistakes that they have made. They will also target up-and-coming guys who are having success at smaller schools right now. Names that are surrounding other job openings such as Hugh Freeze, Steve Sarkisian, Billy Napier, and Luke Fickell will most likely pass on the Vanderbilt job and look for somewhere bigger. Here are my top candidates for the Vanderbilt head coaching vacancy.
1. Jim McElwain, Central Michigan HC
Jim McElwain is a familiar name in college football, but hasn’t been mentioned as much in recent years. Most people remember McElwain as the head coach for the Florida Gators from 2015-2017. What most people probably don’t remember is McElwain had some success at Florida. McElwain won the SEC East division 2 out of the 3 years he was the coach. His overall record at Florida was 22-12, and he was 1-1 in bowl games. In his first year at Florida he finished 10-4, his second year 9-4, and his third year he started out 3-4 before getting fired during the season. There is a lot of pressure on a coach at somewhere like Florida to have a lot of success, but Vanderbilt is a different story.
If a coach wins some games at Vanderbilt and is competitive in the other games, he will live up to the standards. McElwain is currently in his second season at Central Michigan after going 8-6 last year he is off to a 3-1 start this year. He is a proven coach. He turned around the Colorado State program and is a disciple of the Nick Saban coaching tree after serving as Alabama Offensive Coordinator and winning a National Championship under Saban. McElwain won’t necessarily be a sought after candidate for most job openings in the coaching carousel, but McElwain to Vandy seems like a fit that could work out in the long run.
2. Butch Jones, Alabama Analyst
Ah yes, former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones comes in at #2 for me in the Vandy coaching vacancy. Butch Jones seems to have had his career revamped by Alabama head coach Nick Saban, but his name was thrown around for job openings last year that he ultimately ended up passing on, such as Temple. Jones’ family currently still lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he lived when serving as the head coach for the Volunteers. Similar to McElwain, Jones didn’t live up to the standards as a big time SEC program leader, but has proved to be successful everywhere else he has been.
Like McElwain, Jones served as head coach for Central Michigan. He then coached at Cincinnati before bolting for the Tennessee job. Many people remember Butch Jones losing a lot at Tennessee, but he did end with a winning record at 34-27. That’s not ideal, but it definitely would be somewhere like Vandy. Butch Jones overall coaching record at all 3 head coaching jobs falls at 84-54, which is not bad at all. He is also familiar with recruiting the Tennessee area. He has served his time, learning from one of, if not the best to ever do it, Nick Saban. It’s time to give Butch Jones another shot.
3. Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina HC
While Jamey Chadwell isn’t the hottest name on the market, he is worth noting. Jamey has had success everywhere he has been as a head coach (North Greenville, Delta State, Charleston Southern, and Coastal Carolina). He has truly built himself up and climbed the ladder from nothing. His overall record is 77-51 and is 1-0 in bowl games. He took over the Chanticleers last season leading them to 5-7 in his first year. This year they are off to a hot 9-0 start and ranked in the Top 25. Much like McElwain and Butch Jones, he has shown he can take something that is broken and put it back together better. Look for Chadwell to take the jump to a big P5 school soon. If it isn’t Vanderbilt, or the SEC, watch out for him to get a bigger ACC job.
4. Mark Helfrich, Fox Sports Analyst
You may be thinking why have I included a Fox Sports Analyst at #4? It’s because Mark Helfrich, if he is interested in the Vanderbilt job would be a home run hire. Helfrich has only served as a head coach once, serving in the role for Oregon 2013-2016. During his time at Oregon Helfrich was 37-16. I am not sure why he hasn’t already been given another head coaching opportunity to this point. He served as offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears for 2 years in 2018-2019, before being fired. He is now working as an analyst for Fox Sports. Helfrich is another one of those guys who has had success and probably won’t be sought after in a big job. However, he could be a really good fit for the Commodores.
5. Bill Clark, UAB HC
Bill Clark’s name has been thrown around a lot in recent years whenever jobs like this come open. He has literally built UAB from nothing (after shutting the football program down for 1 season), to contending for the C-USA championship every year. Clark isn’t exactly the flashiest guy, but he is nonetheless a proven winner. UAB has gotten off to a shaky start this season at 4-3, but his recent years since the revival of the program have been 8-5, 11-3, and 9-5 with a bowl win in 2018 against Northern Illinois. Clark has never coached anywhere outside of the State of Alabama, so he could be waiting on a job such as Auburn to come open and offer him. But he has achieved everything that there is a achieve at UAB. It may be time to give him a shot.
Honorable Mentions
- Charlie Strong, Alabama Analyst
- Barry Odom, Arkansas DC
- Bret Bilemma, New York Giants LB coach
- Josh Heupel, UCF HC
- Jeff Monken, Army HC
- Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern HC
- Les Miles, Kansas HC
