Mark Byington understands that Vanderbilt needs more than just him
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington gets that a turnaround like this can't be done alone.
He knows that a program like this needs more than just him.
"It starts with the people," Byington said referencing turning a program around. "It's the players, the coaches, the assistant coaches, it's the administration, it's the fans. It's the fans believing that we are gonna be good and getting on board quickly."
The one word that repeated as Byington spoke to the general public: unite.
Vanderbilt's new head coach wants everybody on board, including a fanbase that is longing to be embraced after a 9-23 season.
"I want to build relationships in the community with the fans," Byington said. "We've got to unite the people watching, the people who aren't watching, the people who are gonna be here next year, this team. We've gotta unite.
“It’s not about me, it’s about all of you (the fans).”
In his first day in Nashville, Byington has walked that talk.
The 47-year old coach invited fans in to his introductory press conference free of charge and was seen at a fraternity house moments after speaking to the media.
"I want to let the students know how important they are to the environment at Memorial. I'm excited to build relationships with them and get them to invest."
Byington wants to welcome former players back in with the fanbase, as well.
“It's time to come home."
"I gotta get these former players back," Byington said. "I gotta get them to know that they're appreciated and it's time to come home. It's time to come here. They picked Vanderbilt to play basketball here for a reason and I know the place is special to them. Now I've got to make them a part of this."
Byington doesn't just feel that involving those former players is a courtesy, either.
"They're going to have access to me. We're going to do so many things that are going to bring them back so they can talk about their stories, talk about their memories. But a lot of the time I want them to be mentors to the guys on the team now. I want them to share the experiences they had and help these young men go through some things."
The Vanderbilt coach wants those guys to have something to come back for, though. It's going to take more than just words to do that.
You've gotta win.
Winning starts with recruiting, which Byington seems to put a real emphasis on.
"I’m not good enough to coach bad players so we’ve gotta make sure that we have really good players," Byington said. "I'm leaving this (press conference) and I'm making calls to recruits. We're working on it today."
Emphasis on "We're."
Byington can't do this by himself and he knows that. This program has the ability to be what its fanbase remembers fondly remembers it as again if he can be a catalyst for unity, though.