What Does The Future Hold For Auburn's Tommy Tuberville?

No matter how you look at it, this has been a very good week for Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville. First, Alabama goes out and hires former LSU coach Nick Saban to a $4 million annual contract. Then tonight, the Atlanta Falcons announce they have hired Louisville coach Bobby Petrino to a $5 million a year deal. You will remember that Petrino cut his teeth as offensive coordinator under Tuberville a few years back.

So why has this been a good week for Tuberville? There are several reasons. First, he dodged a bullet when Alabama hired Saban over Petrino. Ask any coach in America and they will tell you they fear Petrino far more than Saban. Why Alabama didn't go after Petrino is anyone's guess. His offense is second to none and he's a tremendous recruiter. It would have been scary to see what he could have done in Tuscaloosa.

Don't get me wrong, ethics aside, Saban can coach and recruit. There's no doubt he will achieve some level of success at Alabama. Winning an SEC championship will be possible, a national championship is probably doubtful. Predicting any coach to win a national championship in the SEC is moronic. It takes a lot of luck to even get a shot at it.

But the bottom line is this: Tommy Tuberville is a better coach than Nick Saban. He has a better staff, better athletes and a better overall program. He has a better record. He has a defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp that spent years with Saban and knows him as well as anyone. Don't discount that advantage.

But more than anything else, this has been a good week for Tuberville because of simple economics. With a contract that pays him in the neighborhood of $2.4 million yearly, he is the eighth highest paid coach in the NCAA. Expect that number to increase substantially in the next year.

Under his current deal, Tuberville automatically gets a $200,000 raise each year. This is in addition to his bonus and other incentives. At the time of negotiation, it sounded like a pretty good deal. And then Slick Nick happened. It's going to be hard to pay Tuberville half what Slick is making when Tubs has beaten him three out of the five times they've played. And it's a pretty safe bet that it's going to move to four out of six before the end of the year.

Add that to tonight's news about Petrino's new contract and you have to wonder what Tuberville is thinking. Will he be content with his current contract if he has another great season this year? Prior to last week, his $7 million buyout made it look like a safe bet that he'd be in Auburn for a while. Now I'm not so sure.

I've always feared and others have told me they agree, that Texas A&M may one day come after Tuberville. He has ties to the school. He served as its defensive coordinator during the 1994 season. Should Dennis Franchione struggle again next year, don't be surprised to see the Aggies come calling.

They are one of the wealthiest schools in the nation and could pay whatever it took to get Tuberville. Would he be interested? It's hard to know. Money talks - to everybody. Tommy Tuberville wants a national championship on his resume. It has to irk him that Slick got a share of one after losing a game during that championship season. In most Auburn fans minds, Tuberville already has one. But is that enough for Tuberville?

Would a Big 12 school or another conference be more appealing to him? It would certainly make it easier to win a national championship. When you compete against Meyer, Spurrier, Miles, Fulmer, Nutt, Richt and now Slick, it's not going to be easy to just win your conference. Those names are insane. Forget Bryant, Neyland, Jordan and Dodd. This is the golden age of coaching in the SEC.

What about the NFL for Tuberville? To me that doesn't seem like an option. One of Tuberville's biggest strengths is his ability to recruit. It's also a strength of his assistants. Never say never, but it just doesn't seem like a fit. And for the record, it doesn't look like a good fit for Petrino. Time will tell.

Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs commented this week that he didn't expect to have to renegotiate Tuberville's contract. That's probably wishful thinking. When you look at what Tuberville brings to the program, there's no question he's worth the going rate - whatever that may be this week.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

9-21-2008 @ 6:59PM

Romdoll said...

http://tigertales.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/i-want-to-believe/

1-07-2007 @ 11:24PM

Matt said...

Slick Nick? What about, "The only way I'll leave Ole Miss is in a pine box"? That is a quote from your pal Tubby just before leaving Miss for Aubrun.

Oh and why don't you let Coach Saban hire his staff before you say that Auburn's is better. A litle research does a body good.

1-08-2007 @ 12:37AM

LadyTiger said...

Your bottom line omitted the fact that Tuberville has a solid fan base behind him. Saban has a bunch of slobbering, idiotic, redneck, losers that live in the past and wear their teeth on their hats.

Tuberville is worth more than Saban.

1-08-2007 @ 9:50AM

Acid Reign said...

.....Petrino may do pretty well in the NFL. He jazzed up a pretty anemic Auburn offense when he arrived, and he sure made Mark Brunell look good before he came to Auburn! And he's now got Michael Vick to work with. If he can get the ATL receivers to catch the ball, the NFC championship is not out of reach.

.....Tuberville is a special college coach. As to the NFL, I'm not so sure. I think you've got to have a good Xs and Os background, with something different to bring to the table to keep everyone guessing. Also, you can't schedule Arky State or the Citadel, either. Tub is top dog in this state, until Saban proves otherwise. In Texas, there are quite a few talented coaches. He's got to take on Mack Brown (Texas), Mike Leach (Texas Tech), Patterson (TCU), Todd Graham (got Rice in a bowl), and of course national coach of the year Art Briles (Houston). And don't think Stoops and Callahan don't raid the state for primo players! It's a crowded competition, as coach Fran has found out...

.....One of the biggest things in Saban's way, other than an entrenced Tuberville, is that the media seems to be after him like a pack of hounds. He'll get fed up, and snap. And it will cause hurt feelings and a huge uproar. There are slick recruiters he'll be competing with, and they'll take advantage. And this will happen again and again. And coach Saban's not competing with the Ragin' Cajuns, the Indians, or the Bulldogs now, for recruits...

.....On the other hand, there are a lot of football kids who have parents who grew up during the Bear era, and put the pressure on to sign with Alabama. Still, that influence dwindles by the year.

.....Bring Saban on. He's no Bear Bryant...

1-09-2007 @ 8:03PM

robert r. morali said...

bama will be back on top soon and the worried auburn fans know it.

1-08-2007 @ 7:24AM

Goberry said...

Winning a national championship in the SEC is the same as winning a national championship in any other conference. Why is it that SEC fans think that their conference is the greatest things since sliced bread? As the SEC's bowl record shows, it is a good conference....nothing more.

1-08-2007 @ 9:47AM

Jon in Auburn said...

You can say that again, LadyTiger. Another thing: watch all the coaches on the sidelines and you can tell character. Tommy Tuberville conducts himself like a gentleman and gets the job done, unlike Petrino who does everything but lay on the ground and pound his little fists whenever something doesn't go his way. Saban will do the same thing and after that drunken welcome he received in Tuscaloosa, what would anyone expect.

Hey Goberry, it's not us who started it. Listen to all the sports commentators during almost every game played this past season. They were saying the SEC is the toughest conference. We just have the intelligence to agree.

1-08-2007 @ 9:58AM

Bama Man said...

Lady Tiger:

Thanks for taking the opportunity to take a cheap shot at Alabama. Perhaps you should read first. You are suppose to add a comment that has something to do with the article.

Tuberville has done well for Auburn. A big raise from Auburn or someone else is in his future.

If Auburn let's Tuberville be stolen away then we'll know who the slobbering redneck short sighted loser idiots are.

Wouldn't it be funny if Coach Fran (former Alabama Coach) struggles again, they fire him and hire Tuberville. Especailly after all the crap Alabama heard when he left. And it ends up being the worst thing for Auburn.

Texas A & M has more money than Auburn and Alabama combined.

1-08-2007 @ 10:09AM

Bama Fever II said...

Hold onto Tuberville for two more years. By that time Bobby Petrino will have had his filled of the NFL. (Like Saban and Spurrier)and you can hire him. Auburn has already provin would like him over Tommy Tuberville. You'll have to come off the wallet but it will be worth it. And if you have to throw in a whore to sweeten up the deal you always got the Lady(??)Tiger.

1-09-2007 @ 9:36AM

Bama Fever said...

We'll find out what Tuberville is worth when Texas A & M or somebody else comes calling. Watch out if Tuberville's buyout is lowered as part of his next contract. No doubt Auburn will have to come off the wallet to keep him happy. Give him a big raise and raise the buy out to 10 million $$$.
Or just try to hold onto to him for about two years until Bobby Petrino tires of the NFL. Then hire the coach you really wanted all along.(if you can afford him). If not Pat Sullivan will be available. Pat could say, "mama called me home".

1-08-2007 @ 10:37AM

Deuce said...

Jon in Auburn,
You are kidding about the gentleman comment right? What gentleman goes around taunting his rival about "Fear the Thumb"? I mean if he was such a gentleman, it seems he would not relish so much in beating a rival that was down due to NCAA sanctions (or in other words had one hand tied behind its back). Tubberville is just asa much a gentleman as Fulmer.
Now that Alabama is returning to an even playing field, we will really see how good Tubberville is and how much a gentlmena he is. My guess? He'll be in the NFL soon. He's had a lotta luck on his side (except for 2004 I guess) and I think he knows that this one-sided affair will soon be over.

1-08-2007 @ 10:49AM

Mike said...

Lets not forget that part of Auburns success was due to the fact that a lot of recruits wanted to stay in state and that Auburn got those recruits because of Alabamas sanctions........

1-08-2007 @ 11:12AM

JohnC. said...

Tuberville is defined by his O and D coordinators, if they leave and he can't pull in good replacements, AU is in trouble.

1-08-2007 @ 11:49AM

Jay Bradshaw said...

I'd just like to say that people who step out of the personal picture and look at all the conferences realistically you have to see that the SEC is by far the toughest league in all of College Football. Unlike the other conferences, each year almost any SEC team with the exception of Vandy and the Mississippis can step up and take on anyone. The SEC beats each other up all season long which makes it extremely hard and almost impossible to go undefeated in the SEC. What's sad that is when that miracle happens and you still do not get to play for the National Championship in the case of Auburn 2004. I won't say they would have beaten USC but it would have been a hell of a better game than Oklahoma gave them.

1-08-2007 @ 2:01PM

You sound really optimistic with that 'even playing field' comment, Deuce. Who knew until this season that bama fans could be so offended by a thumb. I can remember the 70s and 80s when bama was winning all the time and you guys ran around like you owned everything. Now the shoe is on the other foot and something as small as a thumb gets you all riled up and offended. Let me ask you, were you offended by that drunk @#$% hanging all over your new coach last week. What a welcome he got. His first taste of Tuscaloosa, you might say. But somehow, a thumb gets your goat.

1-08-2007 @ 4:15PM

Jason said...

I have to say, this will not affect Tuberville at all. I think he'll get some more money, but he'll still be at Auburn until he is ineffective as a SEC coach. Let's get one thing straight, if that reporter had not seen the Athletic Director and friends debarking from a private jet with their orange on at the Louisville Airport, we'd have a different coach today. As an alumni and season ticket holder that drives 24 hours round trip to games, I think we'd have been better off cutting ties with Tuberville back in 2003 and just bit the bullet. Tuberville is a great recruiter but is only as good as his offensive and defensive coordinators make him. Settling for Tuberville is not so bad, to be completely open, I feel he is the 2nd best for the job. He�s beaten Saban 3 out of 5.

That said, everyone knows that Petrino wants the Auburn job and that Auburn wants him. Alabama didn't persue him because he never lobbied or put in his resume. And for anyone that doesn�t know what happens when you don't send in your resume for a coaching vacancy, you end up in SC, just ask Steve Spurrier (The FL AD asked for his 2 years ago and he told him it was in the trophy case outside his office). So we know he turned down Alabama, LSU, Miami, Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders, some publicly, some privately. Publicly he turned down the LSU job b/c he saw Alabama was coming off a 10-2 season and assumed they would become a contender. His plan was to wait out the Auburn gig in Louisville, but when Alabama fired Shula and seeing Auburn go 11-2, he got restless and seized the opportunity to make more money.

And if you read his statement, "I truly feel is the best job in the National Football League."

Notice he didn't say the best coaching job ever or anywhere in the world, only The NFL. So Petrino hasn�t moved on, he�s just moved in next door�to Tuberville. Call me crazy but Atlanta is only an hour away�

1-08-2007 @ 5:25PM

Bama Man?

It's not a cheap shot when it's been documented and proven by pictures, videos and the media. It's a fact. Perhaps YOU should read first and try to comprehend. My comment pertained exactly to the article. Sorry if I went over your head.

Bama Fever Number 2
What a man! Calls every woman that doesn't agree with him a whore. More redneck bammer mentality.

1-08-2007 @ 6:20PM

NewsFlash - Jimbo Fisher takes Offensive Coordinator job at FSU. What happened? I thought he was going to Tuscaloosa. Maybe the thought of those slobbering drunk rednecks scared him off. What do you think, Lady Tiger? Of course bama man and bama fever 2 will say it shows a particluar lack of discernment and taste on Jimbo's part.