Ken Rogers: New Vandy coach life of the party

HOOVER — There just aren’t many places where they haven’t won a conference game since 2008, have been 12-52 in the league their last eight seasons, the head coach leaves in July and his successor talks about continuing the momentum.

This is Vanderbilt football.

But don’t cry for Robbie Caldwell, the Commodores’ offensive line coach until Bobby Johnson abruptly resigned earlier this month. The interim Vandy coach entertained the print media room at SEC Media Days with a folksy, homespun style that earned applause as he left.

Caldwell, a career assistant from Pageland, S.C., shared just enough of his journey — in and out of football — to leave a roomful of strangers pulling for his success.

“I’m a country boy. I enjoy my roots. I try to do what’s right,” he said. “I’ve got my faults ... my wife will tell you. Just ask her.”

He’s a great story, and a better story teller. He shared his family’s reaction to the news that Bobby Johnson retired abruptly on July 14 after nine seasons. It was a lightning bolt that caught everybody by surprise. A couple hours later, Caldwell, 56, was promoted to head coach — after more than 30 years as an assistant. He wasn’t expecting the reception he got at home.

“My family was in a panic. All they heard was ‘retirement,’” the coach said. “They were all in an uproar, crying, carrying on. They never heard the part about me getting to be interim head coach.”

Their day got better in a hurry. Caldwell looked and sounded like a lottery winner at the podium.

And why not? Before embarking on his career in coaching, he poured concrete, fit pipes and worked on a turkey farm. He was on the inseminating crew.

“Best job I ever had, got paid by the hour for the first time,” Caldwell said. “That was about ’68, ’69.”

Later on, he was asked if he felt guilty on Thanksgiving.

The balding, heavyset Caldwell simply shook his head no, stepped around the podium, unbuttoned his jacket and displayed his stomach.

No guilt there.

Asked about Pageland, he said you had to like watermelon, because it proclaimed itself the watermelon capitol of the world.

“You had to like hunting and fishing,” he said. “Frog gigging. I was scared to death of girls. And I played ball. We played all sports to get out of work.

“If you played a sport, you didn’t have to work during a practice time. That’s why I played basketball. I was probably the worst there’s ever been, but I played so I wouldn’t have to pour concrete. That’s a fact.”

Asked if he had to make a cultural adjustment when he came to Vanderbilt, Caldwell said, “I think it was a big adjustment for Vanderbilt.”

After stints at Furman and North Carolina State on Dick Sheridan’s staff, he also was an assistant at North Carolina before joining Johnson’s staff at Vandy in 2002. Just because he never sought the top job doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel ready.

“Thirty-something years I’ve been preparing for this day,” he said. “I was not consumed by becoming a head coach. But I watched and I listened and I admired. I want to mirror some of those things those guys have done.”

But doing it in the SEC — and at Vanderbilt — add to the challenge.

“I am excited,” he said. “You can imagine being in my position after all these years and all of a sudden, here it is,” he said.

He’s been in the business long enough to understand its demands. But that’s OK. He’s going to take his shot.

“I’m just thrilled to have an opportunity,” he said. “I told my wife, if it’s two days or 20 years, I will now be able to say, ‘Hey, I was a head coach.’”