Texas Tech University Hires Former Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville

2004 Coach Of The Year
Texas Tech has hired former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville to take over the Red Raiders football program. Tuberville’s name also had quickly been mentioned with the opening at South Florida as a possible candidate after the school fired its first head coach Jim Leavitt.
Tuberville 110-60 in 14 seasons as a head coach and has ties to Texas ties after serving as defensive coordinator of the Texas A&M Aggies under R.C. Slocum when his Wrecking Crew defense helped produce a 10-0-1 campaign in 1994. He spent 10 seasons as Auburn’s head coach, guiding the Tigers to a 13-0 season in 2004 but was let go after a 5-7 season in 2008.
His record at Auburn was 85-40 and either won or tied for first five times during his tenure and is the only coach in Auburn history to beat in-state rival Alabama six straight times. Prior to Auburn he spent four season at Ole Miss where he guided the Rebels to a 25-20 record in his first head coaching job.
Tuberville, 55, is more conservative than Leach ever was calling plays but he is said to agreed to keep Leach’s offense and coaching staff intact. He will receive a contract comparable to the five-year, $12.7 million Leach signed last February, make in the neighborhood of $2 million annually.
Leach, the winningest coach in Texas Tech history, was fired after an investigation found that he mistreated wide receiver Adam James, the son of former SMU running back and current ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
It’s still uncertain whether or not interim coach/defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will elect to remain on staff. McNeill was also a serious candidate for the job. He and Tuberville both share a background in defense, which could make the relationship awkward.


