Are the Blue Raiders ready for a philosophical overhaul on the sidelines next season? That’s what the defensive guru and former Vanderbilt head coach brings to Middle Tennessee. This job shouldn’t be nearly as difficult as the one he previously had within the SEC in Nashville as a head coach. How his offense looks with Bodie Reeder in charge will determine if this was a grand slam hire or multi-year fill-in after Rick Stockstill. Early returns, given Mason’s career pedigree, are positive.
Lewis understands what it takes to score points and produce in a big way. Prior to last season’s failures as Deion Sanders’ OC at Colorado, Lewis was 24-31 (.436) in five seasons as the head coach at Kent State, leading the Golden Flashes to a pair of bowl game appearances and a MAC East divisions title in 2021. Kent State finished no worse than second in the MAC East in three out of the five seasons under Lewis. He’s respected within the industry despite the 2023 campaign not working out with the Buffaloes.
He’s not going to have the same level of talent he had with the Longhorns as their co-DC last season, but if Choate’s able to implement his defensive prowess at Nevada, this program has a chance to rise in the coming years and do so quickly. He has five years of experience as a head coach, all coming during his 2016-20 stint at Montana State, and his defensive units have always had a takeaway-first mindset.
