The 2020 season is the seventh for Jason Grooms as an administrator with the Vanderbilt football program. Grooms is serving his fourth season at assistant athletics director for football.
Grooms was hired by head coach Derek Mason in 2014 as director of football operations. The working relationship between the two dates back a decade, when Grooms became Ohio’s first director of football operations in 2005 and Mason was the Bobcats’ receivers coach. They worked together in Athens for two years.
Grooms oversees all facets of the Vanderbilt operations program, from the day-to-day operations to responsibilities including budget control, team travel, player development, office organization including staff and personnel coordination and the Gridiron Club.
Grooms has managed Vanderbilt’s future scheduling under Mason. Grooms has been active with several additional projects at Vanderbilt. He oversaw a complete remodel of the football facilities with the additions of all new graphics in every area of the football complex, developed the player lounge and recruiting display room, helped produce a stadium facelift consisting of graphics and bowl recognitions, assisted Mason to create a player development department and summer internship program that now includes student-athletes from all Vanderbilt sports, introduced several new technologies such as iPad playbooks, Catapult testing and Teamworks communication programs, contributed on a weight room redesign, created the Vanderbilt Alumni Golf Outing held at the end of spring drills, and started the Rising Star Youth Football camp for Nashville area youth.
Grooms has been an active member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) since 2001. He served as president of the AFCA’s Director of Football Operations group in 2017, in a year where the group’s yearly agenda was diversity and inclusion in college football. He has been a trustee for the organization as of 2018.
In 2013, Grooms was named FootballScoop.com’s 2013 Director of Football Operations of the Year for his contributions at Ohio.
Grooms was promoted to Ohio’s assistant athletic director for football operations prior to the 2011 season after serving six years as the Bobcats’ director of operations. During his time at Ohio, Grooms oversaw six major facility renovation projects. He also established a fundraising plan and designed an extensive locker room renovation completed in 2015.
During Grooms’ tenure, Ohio played in six bowl games and three Mid-American Conference championship games under Frank Solich.
Prior to joining Ohio, Grooms spent the 2004 season at Elon, serving as linebacker coach/recruiting coordinator. Grooms spent the 2003 season as outside linebackers coach and video coordinator at East Tennessee State.
Grooms began his career at Ohio as a student assistant from 1997-2001. After earning his degree, Grooms joined Ohio coach Jim Grobe at Wake Forest as a graduate assistant, working with Wake Forest safeties in 2001 and linebackers in 2002.
Grooms graduated from Ohio in 2001 with a bachelor’s in sports sciences. He earned his master’s in recreation and sports sciences from Ohio in 2011.
A native of Frankfort, Ohio, Grooms and his wife, Emily, are the parents of two sons, Jackson and Hayden, and a daughter, Scarlett Josephine.
Grooms’ Collegiate Career
2015-present – Vanderbilt – Assistant Athletics Director of Football/Director of Football Operations
2014-15 – Vanderbilt – Director of Football Operations
2011-13 – Ohio – Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations
2005-10 – Ohio – Director of Football Operations
2004 – Elon – Outside Linebacker Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2003 – East Tenn. State – Outside Linebacker Coach/Video Coordinator
2001-02 – Wake Forest – Graduate Assistant (Defense)