BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Robbie Caldwell’s first stint at Southeastern Conference Media Days played out like a standup comedy act.
Caldwell replaced retiring Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson only last week. He walked up to the podium on Thursday with a huge grin on his face, clearly thrilled to be there.
If there’s anything better than being an SEC head coach, Caldwell hasn’t found it yet.
“This is awesome,” he said, beaming like a kid on Christmas morning.
Caldwell kept reporters in attendance in peals of laughter with self-deprecating jokes. The first one he tackled: who the heck is this guy?
“I know the first question you’re asking is, who is Robbie Caldwell?” he said.
That’s a question Caldwell hopes people find out this season. Right now, he’s the only SEC coach with almost complete anonymity.
“I got asked on the radio … What about all the coaches, have they congratulated you?” Caldwell said. “I said, No, not a one. No offense to them, but they don’t know me. They will.”
Even players on his team view him as a mystery. Many only know him as the team disciplinarian.
“You know, a lot of our players never knew me except the one side that nobody wanted to see,” Caldwell said.
SEC fans still haven’t quite figured out what he looks like.
“I can still walk in places and nobody knows me. Last night I was opening the door for people and they gave me a tip!” Caldwell said, chuckling. “I thought, hey, that’s great. How can you get it any better than that?”
Caldwell is still working out the kinks in the transition, but has been trying to keep things as smooth as possible.
“It’s been a big change with Coach Johnson leaving in a surprise, nobody really saw it coming,” said Vanderbilt linebacker Chris Marve. “But Coach Caldwell has done a great job of smoothing the transition as much as he could.”
Commodore linebacker John Stokes says in terms of philosophy and expectations, nothing has changed with Caldwell as the reins.
“He’s a fun guy,” said Commodore linebacker John Stokes. “We’re getting to know him more and more each day.”
Fun certainly describes Caldwell, who brought a breath of fresh air to Media Day. SEC coaches have been known to treat media sessions with disdain, throwing out “no comments” and skirting around questions.
Caldwell, humble and excited, answered every question from recruiting to his time at a turkey farm, earnestly and honestly.
“My first hourly paying job was on the turkey farm,” Caldwell said. “I don’t know if I could tell you what my job was, but I was on the inseminating crew. That’s a fact.”
That’s done nothing to dampen his Thanksgiving appetite. To emphasize his point, Caldwell stepped away from the podium and pointed to his stomach, causing people in the room to howl with laughter.
If Caldwell seems excited, it’s partly because he never expected to be in this position.
“The only thing I ever wanted to be when I went to college was a head high school coach one day,” Caldwell said. “That was my goal. Because my high school coaches meant the world to me.”
As a child tugged between his two divorced parents, Caldwell said his coaches kept him on the straight path.
“I never really dreamed of it,” Caldwell said. “Till the last few years, I start getting to that age, you wonder, Will I get the chance? But I was perfectly happy. I’m honored, man. This is the greatest thrill of my life other than my child being born. It’s just tremendous.”
Caldwell said he felt as shocked as anyone to find out Johnson wanted to retire. As thrilled as he was, receiving the job still felt little bittersweet, he said.
“I lost a good friend,” Caldwell said. “And football lost a great man, a great coach. Fortunately I’ll be able to pull some things from him and have him, able to call on and give me some advice.”
The year’s been full of ups and downs for the former offensive line coach. Vanderbilt’s put together a recruiting class Caldwell said he considers one of the best ever.
But a black cloud hung over the class after signee Rajaan Bennett was shot and killed last winter.
“I just hate the world is not going to get to know Rajaan Bennett,” Caldwell said somberly. “Everybody on our staff just loved that young man, what he did. I know one of the lines in the paper he wrote they found from the ninth grade, that he would never give up. That’s what we want to model ourselves after.”
No one ever said being a head coach would be easy, especially at a school that had a 2-10 record last season. Caldwell’s own daughter pored over the upcoming schedule to find games the Commodores could win.
Caldwell said his daughter looked at the schedule and said, “Daddy, I think there’s two teams on there that didn’t go to a Bowl game.”
But that’s the great thing about being in the SEC — you play against the best, Caldwell told her.
Learning to be a head coach requires on-the-job training, Caldwell said. But if there’s one thing he’s already figured out, it’s how to work a room.
When Caldwell finished speaking, he smiled and walked out to a round of applause, stopping for a few congratulatory handshakes along the way.
For the people that don’t know him, don’t worry. They will.