NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/NewsChannel 5) - Vavae Tata will no longer be on Vanderbilt's coaching staff after pleading guilty to a charge of drunk driving in an agreement dismissing a count of leaving the scene of an accident.
Vanderbilt spokesman Rod Williamson said Wednesday, hours after Tata's plea agreement, that coach Derek Mason will be filling out his staff within the week and had been waiting for Tata's case to be decided in court to make a move replacing the defensive line coach.
Mason suspended Tata on Feb. 18, two days after the assistant coach's arrest. Hired Jan. 24, Tata had followed Mason to Vanderbilt from Stanford where he had been a defensive assistant with Mason working as defensive coordinator the past couple years.
The agreement includes Tata losing his license for a year and serving 48 hours in jail with the rest of the 11-month, 29-day sentence suspended.
Police said Tata, 37, recorded a 0.18 percent blood alcohol content on a Breathalyzer test, above the state limit of 0.08 when police found him a few blocks away from a vehicle that had crashed into two parked vehicles.
(Copyright NewsChannel 5/The Associated Press.)
