As a Vanderbilt graduate, I must give VU’s side of the story in the Gus Malzahn hiring attempt. The News has lauded Auburn for their efforts in keeping Malzahn, but I want to tell you what Vandy did to try to get the guy.
Vandy offered him 3m a year for seven years; not a bad deal for a career  asst and former high school coach. We weren’t going to sign off on an indoor facility and coach’s offices in a press box in the north end zone of Vanderbilt Stadium just yet. We couldn’t put an 80 to 90 m commitment into writing. We have academics to worry about, too. Some other schools don’t.

But we were going to give Malzahn pretty much everything he wanted. Jimmy Sexton, who usually handles head coaches like Nick Saban, was taking on this assistants’ quest at getting a job and playing hard ball with Vanderbilt. Vandy’s leaders just finally said enough, take it or leave it. Malzahn decided 1.3m was better than 3m at a place where winning is possible. That’s like taking Spam over New York Strip or Roseanne Barr over Eva Longoria. The players at Vanderbilt are great, smart, want to win, and the cupboard is not bare. Far from it. There are a lot of young, good football players on this team; A lot of three-star players on this roster. Stanford has won big with three stars and Boise has two and three-stars all over their roster. Everyone says well they don’t play in the SEC. That’s true, but I think that’s a cop out. Vandy has beaten South Carolina, Georgia, Ole Miss– three out of the last four years–Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn, all in the last six years. We got some pretty decent coaching and some good recruiting from Bobby Johnson and his staff. The talent is there at running back, wide receiver, oline and defense. Vandy needs a few more players at linebacker and a solid quarterback. Jordan Rodgers, Aaron’s little brother, could be good. Aaron is a pretty good player I’d say. Ask the Green Bay Packers. Larry Smith has not been very good in his two years under center, but maybe with some good coaching he could be better. We had some weaknesses in coaching on the offensive side of the ball particularly at qb and wr. But there is talent begging to be coached up.

It can be done at Vanderbilt, but Malzahn didn’t think so. If he wasn’t confident enough to think he could do it, then we didn’t need him. There are some good coaches out there who are chomping at the bit to get a head coaching job. Three guys, Greg Roman off Stanford (oc pretty much), James Franklin of Maryland (OC) and Don Treadwell of Mich State (OC and coach while Dantonio was recovering from heart ailment), wanted the job. I like Roman and Treadwell a lot. I saw Roman in an interview and was very impressed. Treadwell did an outstanding job while Dantonio was convalescing. I know Vandy Vice Chancellor David Williams was high on Franklin as well. The OC at Oklahoma State, Dana Holgorsen, is a dude and an outstanding coach. OSU had one of the best offenses in the country. He looks like a guy the players would like a lot. I think Pitt is about  to hire him though.

So there are choices for Vandy. There is no doubt in my mind Vandy can win and win a lot. VU wants a coach who wants to be at Vanderbilt. Nashville is a great city to live in, fun as well as a great place to raise a family. Going to school is like being in an Ivy League environment. If a player gets a degree from Vandy that is pretty impressive on his or her  resume. Plus it’s a fun school. I really enjoyed my time there and made a lot of lifelong friends who are fun, interesting and serious about their careers and their families and also can cut loose and have a good time. We have at least 12-14 guys in the NFL. The Chicago Bears have six. We have a starting linebacker for the New York Giants, a future impact cornerback for the Tampa Bay Bucs and a defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans. There are others. Four Bears’ starters are former Vandy players. The Bears are 9-4 and have a shot to go deep in the playoffs. Sunday was an aberration against New England. They’ll come back and play well the rest of the season.

We have great kids in the student body and in athletics. The basketball teams and baseball teams are primed to make deep runs in the NCAA’s this season.

I’m perfectly aware of the football history; it’s not good. But you can’t live in the past. I’m tired of getting dogged by these ill-informed sportswriters and sportscasters who don’t know a thing about this football program and how serious our chancellor and vice chancellor are about winning.

The glass is half full in my opinion. You can win at Vandy, go to bowl games and establish an outstanding program that can compete for championships. I truly believe that. Malzahn didn’t have the courage to take that chance. Good riddance.

(Rising juniors Warren Norman (left) and Zac Stacy along with some more running backs are outstanding players.)