After 18 years and parts of three different decades with Rick Stockstill at the helm, MTSU has positioned itself for a new era in Blue Raiders football.
Sources tell FootballScoop that MTSU is poised to hire Derek Mason as its next head coach.
The Blue Raiders late last month parted with Stockstill after 18 seasons. Stockstill positioned the Blue Raiders at .500 or better for seven straight seasons from 2012-18, but in the past five campaigns, MTSU peaked at 8-5, and went 4-8 this fall. Middle last finished above .500 in conference play in 2018.
The former Stanford defensive coordinator arrived in Tennessee as Vanderbilt's head coach in 2014. Mason led the Commodores to two bowl appearances in seven seasons on the job.
He spent 2021 as the defensive coordinator at Auburn and 2022 in the same role at Oklahoma State. Mason spent 2023 out of football, but is now set to return in one of the best jobs in Conference USA.
One of the larger public universities in the Volunteer State with nearly 18,000 students enrolled, MTSU had seen its standing recede a bit in Conference-USA since 2019 and its attendance had declined in the process.
Murfreesboro, home to MTSU, is among both the fastest-growing areas in the state of Tennessee and across the country.
The location, with close proximity to Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Atlanta and Birmingham, among other locales, drew great interest in the position, several sources told FootballScoop.
Among candidates FootballScoop confirmed that spoke with MTSU during its search were SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods, TCU running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr., Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks, Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulker and former MTSU legend Steve McAdoo. There were also various levels of interaction with Tennessee's Jerry Mack, as well as Austin Peay's Scotty Walden and Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz -- a former MTSU top assistant coach.
Walden was hired by UTEP; Diaz remains a contender at both Duke and James Madison, sources have told FootballScoop.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.