Please allow me to nullify much of my September 12th post...
Robbie Caldwell and the Bad News Bears (ie the Vanderbilt Commodores) were able to do something remarkable last Saturday. They went down to Oxford, where the speed limit is still limited to the number on the back of two generations' worth of Manning jerseys, and put a serious beat down on the Rebels.
Was Ole Miss that bad or was Vanderbilt that good? It's a glass half empty/half full dialectic that I won't spend much time on. Point is, the scrappy Vanderbilt defense made Jeremiah Masoli look foolish, and some strange combination of Ole Miss ineptitude and Vanderbilt muscle allowed an anemic offense from the Commodores to completely dismantle the Rebels at home. Larry Smith ain't Jay Cutler, but Warren Norman is a lot closer to Mark Ingram than anyone is willing to admit. And more importantly, Vanderbilt played with an enviable chip on its shoulder. When you are the best financially endowed school in the SEC and also the worst football program it engenders a bizarre identity crisis, but I loved how the Commodores responded on this given Saturday.
In today's Tennessean, David Climer opines about Robbie Caldwell's chances at retaining his head coaching position, and to be honest I don't see why the job isn't his to lose. Who else is going to come into a football program with an epic record of seasonal losses and maintain the same kind of self effacing humor as Caldwell? Please, give me a break. I love this guy and he makes the Commodores that much more fun to root for.
Say this much for Robbie Caldwell: He's trying to make this a tough call for Vanderbilt.
By winning at Ole Miss last Saturday, and looking good in the process, the Commodores presented Caldwell with his first victory as a head coach.
Are there more where that came from? If so, Caldwell will build a case that he should be more than just a one-season fill-in for the Commodores.
Let's face it: The odds are against Caldwell's keeping the job beyond this season. He was elevated to the spot only because the school had limited options when Bobby Johnson announced his retirement shortly before the start of training camp. After 30-plus years as a position coach, it's hard to make a case that Caldwell is the answer as head coach over the long haul.
But victories have a way of changing perception. Suppose the Commodores win another couple of SEC games. Considering the level of expectation entering the season, you could argue that Caldwell's team was overachieving.
I still expect Vanderbilt to be searching for a new head coach at the conclusion of the season. But with nine games left and a surge of confidence after the win at Ole Miss, who knows?
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