Derek Mason announced on social media Thursday that he is stepping down as Oklahoma State’s defensive coordinator and taking a sabbatical from coaching football.
Mason took over this past season after Jim Knowles took the same position at Ohio State. Under Mason, Oklahoma State allowed 28.9 points per game, fifth in the Big 12, and surrendered 435.7 yards per game, eighth in the 10-team conference. The Cowboys finished the season with a 7-6 record and lost their final three games, including a 24-17 loss to Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Mason joined the staff this season after being defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2021. He was the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2014 to 2020, and was defensive coordinator at Stanford before that.
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