Longer form thoughts on the end of an era.

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports The Derek Mason era at Vanderbilt wasn’t doomed from the start, even if it might have seemed that way after a 37-7 loss to Temple in a downpour at Vanderbilt Stadium back in the 2014 season opener. Mason’s first season muddled to a 3-9 record with the wins coming against Charleston Southern (by a point), UMass (after the Minutemen missed a field goal that would have sent the game to overtime), and Old Dominion (at that point in its first season as a full-fledged FBS member.)

Everybody knows that I’m patient with head coaches — hell, I thought Bryce Drew should have been retained after the dumpster fire of 2019 and didn’t even change my opinion until…