If Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell knows how to do one thing, it’s work.
 
Head coaching in the Southeastern Conference is a step above Caldwell’s career of more than 30 years as an assistant coach, but he has the faith of his players and a strong work ethic on his side in his first season at the helm.
 
“All I know how to do is work. I’ve been a worker all my life,” Caldwell said. “I can talk about pouring concrete, farming, being a pipefitter, working on a turkey farm — what I did prior to football. But nobody wants to hear that … I’m just in place and ready to go.”
 
Caldwell has been in the coaching ranks since his days as a graduate assistant at Furman, his alma mater, in 1976. He coached football and baseball at Hanahan High School in Hanahan, S.C., in 1977 and returned to Furman as the offensive line coach from 1978 to 1985.
 
He coached six Southern Conference championship teams at Furman before moving on to North Carolina State, where he coached the Wolfpack offensive line for 11 years.
 
Caldwell made a quick stop at North Carolina to coach the Tar Heels’ offensive line for two years, then Vanderbilt came calling in December 2001.
 
Caldwell took the reins as offensive line coach in 2002 before being named interim head coach when Bobby Johnson retired in July. The interim title was removed less than a month later, and his players are on board with fun-loving Caldwell’s plan for the team to rebound from a 2-10 finish in the 2009 season.
 
“[Caldwell] is a fun guy,” senior linebacker John Stokes said at SEC Media Days in July. “We’re getting to know him more and more each day. He’s focused on the team, enjoying the game, enjoying the team and the atmosphere.”
 
Caldwell said the idea of being a head coach was a role he didn’t think was in the cards for him. In fact, it was not even at the top of his list of lifetime goals.
 
“You prepare yourself to head coach just in case … but I’m a loyal company man,” Caldwell said. “The only thing I ever wanted to be when I went to college was a head high school coach one day. My high school coaches meant the world to me. I came from a broken home, a dad living on one side and a mom living on the other, and I had the coaches in the middle that kept me straight.”
 
Caldwell’s debut as a head coach did not have a favorable result, as the Commodores lost to Northwestern, 23-21, in Nashville. Vanderbilt missed an extra point, a 48-yard field goal and two 2-point conversions — the last on a bad snap with 2:25 left in the game.
 
Caldwell said the team has a lot to work on after digesting the missed opportunities squandered in the season opener.
 
“We had a perfect call, and we rushed it,” Caldwell said of the first botched 2-point conversion that would have tied the game at 17. “We practiced it so many times, but the excitement and being a young bunch I guess [caused us to miss it]. That part was frustrating, but next time we do it they will execute it perfectly.”
 
Caldwell said he also has some work to do in his head coaching post. Then again, the ability to work is one of his best assets.
 
“The one thing I forgot to check right off the bat was which way the wind was blowing,” Caldwell said. “I used to be in charge of that years ago, [figuring out] which way we want to kick. And working the headphones, I’ve been on offense for 34 years, and now I’ve got to switch back and forth with defense and special teams … I’ve been practicing on the switch.”
 
At SEC Media Days, Caldwell called the opportunity to be a head coach the highlight of his life aside from his daughter’s birth, regardless of how unexpected the promotion was.
 
LSU coach Les Miles said Caldwell demonstrates the qualities of a dedicated coach who will do valuable things for his team.
 
“He seems like the right guy,” Miles said. “I certainly root for him. … I suspect he’ll do great.”
 
 
 
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Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]