As the Auburn football program continues to be embroiled in offseason drama that dwarfs what went on following the 2020 season, former Tigers staffers are living their best life.
Gus Malzahn has Chip Lindsay joining him in Orlando as the new offensive coordinator following a run as the head coach of the Troy Trojans. Nick Eason is back with his alma mater Clemson and helped land Caden Story on those Tigers.
Then there’s Derek Mason, who left the Plains after a year serving as the defensive coordinator for a Tigers defense that had one of college football’s most significant defensive performances, shutting out Alabama for three quarters, as well as several notable disasters headline by a catastrophic meltdown against Mississippi State.
Mason just made history with the Oklahoma State Cowboys and became quite the rich man in the process:
BREAKING: Derek Mason’s contract at OSU has the terms of 2 years for $1.1 million per year. The official contract is still in works with legal per Oklahoma State.
— Chris Becker (@bhris_cecker316) February 7, 2022
Mason would be the highest paid coordinator in OSU history.
As several pointed out following the announcement, that figure is still lower than his Auburn football salary:
Derek Mason took a $400k paycut in leaving Auburn for Oklahoma State. https://t.co/EIycWRatMo
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) February 7, 2022
Mason was making 1.5 at Auburn. https://t.co/TR9kpdEDpT
— Nubyjas Wilborn (@nwilborn19) February 7, 2022
The move to a legitimate College Football Playoff contender–remember, a fourth and goal stop from Baylor in the Big 12 title game is perhaps what got Cincinnati into the CFP and kept OSU out of the Cotton Bowl–is one that makes a ton of sense in the current context of what AU is going through.
After struggling at Vanderbilt in a head coaching role, Mason has done well as a DC in recent years, getting paid handsomely in the process.