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Ranking every SEC football coach ahead of SEC Media Days: Where does Butch Jones stand?

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shakes hands with head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers after their 49-10 win at Neyland Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shakes hands with head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers after their 49-10 win at Neyland Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Derek Mason of the Vanderbilt Commodores reacts after defeating Tennessee 45-34 at Vanderbilt Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Derek Mason of the Vanderbilt Commodores reacts after defeating Tennessee 45-34 at Vanderbilt Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

For two years, Derek Mason had earned his spot at the bottom of the SEC coaching ranks. But it’s time to give credit where credit is due.

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Mason is slowly improving the Vanderbilt Commodores, and last year’s bowl appearance solidified that.

This team closed out the season with huge wins over the Ole Miss Rebels and the Tennessee Vols, and they were four plays away from being 10-2 instead of 6-6 during the regular season.

And Mason has taken the Commodores from 3-9 to 4-8 to 6-6, getting better every year.

Meanwhile, he has a top 5 recruiting class for the program right now for 2018, although that could change.

All of these things point to Mason slowly rebuilding the Commodores program and putting them on solid ground.

Why, then, do we have him down at No. 11 with all this praise? Well, it’s mainly because he’s still a huge question mark.

Vanderbilt is now in better shape than Ole Miss, which puts him above Hugh Freeze, and he’s more proven than Ed Orgeron or Barry Odom.

But last year’s bowl appearance was a bit of a fluke when you consider that they beat a Rebels team tanking the season and a Vols team decimated by injuries. Mason still hasn’t proven much and even lost to Missouri last year.

Also, his 2017 recruiting class was dead last in the SEC. So for now, we still have him near the bottom of coaches in the conference. He’ll need another year of success to get to the middle of the pack.

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