Tommy Tuberville and Jason Campbell were Auburn football’s coaches before Cam Newton and Gene Chizik. Former NFL star Campbell, a signal-caller for the 2004 squad that went undefeated, played for eleven seasons before taking a low-key position in media with Auburn Sports Network radio.
Nevertheless, Tuberville plunged headfirst into the competitive world of politics and went on to become the current United States Senator for the state of Alabama after spending four more years with the Tigers and brief spells with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Cincinnati Bearcats.
After deposing Democratic incumbent Doug Jones in 2020, Tuberville has made headlines for himself with a number of stunts over his four years in power, such as his attempt to revoke Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory and his obstruction of senior officer promotions in the US military for a large portion of 2023. Given Tuberville’s stronghold in the weekly new cycle (mostly due to his negative associations), it was a matter of time until an old tale from his coaching career surfaced.
Co-host Tyler Siskey told a tale about his interactions with former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville earlier this week on the McCready and Siskey Podcast. Though he didn’t think much of a wide receiver at Auburn, Siskey described his brief encounters with Tuberville that would later influence college football. When the Tigers plucked Tuberville, their new figurehead, from Ole Miss, Siskey, an Auburn receiver, was already enrolled at the school (though he vowed less than a week later that it would take them taking him out in a “pine box” to leave Oxford).
“Tyler, I signed six wide receivers yesterday,” stated Tuberville. It will be on the visiting sidelines if you still have dreams of running out of that tunnel. Do you want to be released?
Siskey gave in to Tuberville’s pressure and said yes; the bench boss then handed him his release papers, which he had already printed and signed. Siskey was not the only athlete to be affected by Tuberville’s lack of manners and regard for the veteran players; the wideout also related a story about how one of his buddies was abruptly dismissed from his scholarship after practice. After finishing with a respectable 85–40 record at Auburn, Tuberville struggled in his last season, which resulted in his first losing campaign since 1999. The fascinating aspect of Tyler Siskey’s narrative is how his treatment of the receiver and his friend years earlier may have prevented Tuberville’s 2008 rapid decline and resignation.
Siskey, after transferring to Troy, immediately transitioned into coaching. He eventually landed a gig at powerhouse St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile, Alabama, operating as the team’s offensive coordinator during their 2007 5A championship run. When Tuberville came knocking for recruits, mainly standout quarterback A.J. McCarron and hard-hitting safety Mark Barron, he came front and center with Siskey. Although Tuberville tried to downplay his treatment of Siskey heading into the 1999 season, the now offensive-minded guru said, “If they ask me about you, I’m going to tell them the truth.” McCarron went on to win three titles with the Alabama Crimson Tide, while Barron, also with Alabama, became an All-American and future first-round pick.
Tommy Tuberville’s horror story as the former head coach of Auburn football is unsettling, and one major warning flag is his lack of empathy for certain players. However, the current report regarding the longstanding bench boss doesn’t seem to have stunned many fans of Auburn and collegiate football. A concerning dearth of support from former players and coaches accompanies Tuberville’s status as one of America’s most reviled senators. Many supporters ridiculed the former Auburn head coach on Twitter (also known as X) by sharing their opinions on Tyler Siskey’s Tuberville narrative.
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