LIKE IT IS: Vanderbilt coach emerges as media darling

— When Robbie Caldwell walked into the room, he faced off with a few hundred members of the media who were tired, cold and a little irritable thanks to a winking wireless connection.

More than half the SEC coaches had come and gone, including big guns Nick Saban of Alabama and Florida’s Urban Meyer.

When Caldwell and Steve Spurrier finished that day, it would be time for the annual golf game, so the big, cold room wasn’t quite full when Caldwell wandered upon the stage and looking a little lost said: “I know the first question you are going to ask is, who is Robbie Caldwell?

“Very few people know me. So I’ve been behind the scenes for a long time. I think I’ve been an assistant for 30-something years. I really don’t know how many.”

That brought a chuckle from the media who were tired of hearing about agents, the NFL Players Association and the poor, innocent athletes who take money from agents before they quit playing.

Or the poor, innocent athlete who was preyed on when a guy gave him an airline ticket to Miami, and the player flew down and had a hearty party on South Beach.

What the media didn’t know was they were about to get the round mound of sound.

Caldwell replaced Bobby Johnson,who resembled comedian Steve Martin in outward appearance, but Johnson was rarely funny.

Last Thursday, it was rare when Caldwell, a 56-year old native of South Carolina, wasn’t funny.

Caldwell has spent more than three decades coaching offensive linemen since graduating from Furman, but eight days before his tour of duty at the SEC football media days, he was named interim head coach of Vanderbilt, a school known for strong academics.

So, it was a natural to ask him about his adjustment to head coach at an Ivy League type school.

“I think it was a big adjustment for Vanderbilt with my culture,” he said. “I tried to give them a little flavor.”

He then added in his Southern drawl, “As you can tell, I’m from New York.”

Someone asked if he would keep Johnson’s no-profanity policy in practice, and without a moment’s hesitation, Caldwell said: “You know, I’m not an angel, that’s for certain. You know, it’s just a sign of limited vocabulary sometimes. I know y’all can’t tell it, but I do have an education.”

By then there were no questions of returning starters, any scheme changes he might make or the schedule. A star of the media stage was being born.

When asked about growing up in Pageland, S.C., he talked about his first hourly paying job, which was on a turkey farm.

“I don’t know if I could tell you what my job was, but I was on the inseminating crew,” Caldwell said.

“I worked my way to the top.”

Which led to Caldwell being asked if that experience prevented him from enjoying Thanksgiving. Turning sideways, he said: “No it hasn’t. You can tell by looking at me. This job has been good for me. I’ve lost seven pounds in the last eight days.”

He shared the story of being a high school football and baseball coach who took a $3,500 cut in pay to go to Furman as a graduate assistant.

“My daddy said, ‘You’re an idiot.’ I’ve continued to live up to his words, I’m sure.”

And on his jump to interim head coach: “I go from lining the field to I’m a head coach in the SEC. The rest of my life I can say I was a head coach in the SEC.”

Caldwell and Vanderbilt might not win a game, but the round mound of sound won the SEC - media days.

Sports, Pages 13 on 07/27/2010

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