Texas A&M Appears to Covet Tuberville.
Tommy Tuberville appears to be on the move to Texas A&M.
With the college football season several weeks away from the conclusion of the regular season, it seems grossly premature to start talking about the perennial coaching carousel, but that appears not to be the case. Many media outlets are reporting that Texas A&M is looking to buyout the contract of current A&M head coach Dennis Franchione and Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville is said to be the leading candidate.
For the record, Franchione is denying that talks are underway to buyout his contract and his removal as head coach at the end of the season. And Tuberville is also denying that he has discussed the possible job vacancy. But as they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and there is plenty of smoke right now.
So, how are the Tigers faithful taking the news?? Frankly, Tigers fans are in a panic. Tuberville has clearly done a fantastic job at Auburn and best yet, has absolutely owned Alabama while he’s been there, which is next on the list of priorities for Tigers fans beyond a National Championship.
It is true that Tuberville is extremely satisfied with his job at Auburn, and Athletic Director Jay Jacob has hinted at a long-term deal to lock Tubs for good. But Texas A&M has deep pockets that Auburn likely won’t be able to match. When Alabama went out and gave Nick Saban a disgustingly large amount of money, it changed the landscape for college coaches everywhere. The money we’re talking about here is absolutely nutty, it will cost $6 million just to buyout Tuberville’s contract currently at $2.5 million per.
It would be a shame if Tuberville bolts for the money, he’s built something special at Auburn and the fact that he is being pursued so aggresively by A&M goes to show how much he is respected as one of the best football coaches in the country. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve heard of this story in the weeks and months to come, stay tuned.
South Carolina, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Florida, Steve Spurrier
November 15th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
[...] As posted earlier, Tommy Tuberville will be the leading candidate for the A&M job once it becomes official that Dennis Franchione steps down at the end of the season. [...]
November 25th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
[...] Auburn over Alabama. I bet Tide fans are suddenly not so impressed with new coach Nick Saban. After coming to Alabama with what amounted to a rockstar reception, Tide fans are getting a dose of reality, and a $4 million dollar a year coach that doesn’t appear to be much better than the less than $1 million dollar coach they got rid of last spring. For Auburn, savor the win as it very well could be the last in the Tommy Tuberville era. [...]
December 5th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
[...] the flip side, there are some mixed feelings about this from Auburn fans. There was the brief flirtation with Texas A&M, and then the reports that Tuberville had a secret interview with Arkansas for their head coaching [...]