The last month has not been kind to the public image of former Auburn football head coach turned Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville.
His recent political statements, including a misunderstanding of ex-President Donald J. Trump’s pledge to exempt service worker gratuities from the federal income tax, have drawn significant criticism. On Monday, he demanded that Trump turn America back into the country he “grew up in,” although Tuberville grew up in the South during Jim Crow.
However, these controversies pale compared to an old coaching horror story from Tuberville’s time with the Auburn Tigers that resurfaced earlier this month.
In a recent episode of The McCready and Siskey Podcast, co-host Tyler Siskey, a former wide receiver with the Auburn Tigers, shared a surprising karma-filled story about his relationship with Tuberville.
College football fans are now reliving the time Tuberville, while operating as the head coach with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, unexpectedly walked out of a team dinner to accept the frontman position with the Cincinnati Bearcats. This unexpected move left many in shock and sparked a wave of discussions among fans.
From a record standpoint, Tommy Tuberville and the Auburn football program dominated in the early 2000s. Tuberville led the team to eight straight bowl games from 2000 to 2007, including an undefeated record and a Sugar Bowl win in 2004. However, after a brutal 5-7 record in 2008 and the firing of his offensive coordinator, the now 69-year-old resigned. After just a year hiatus, Tuberville rejoined the college football world, landing the head coaching gig at Texas Tech on the heels of the Mike Leach firing.
Despite his past success, the Arkansas native struggled to replicate it at Texas Tech, posting a 20-17 record. Nevertheless, the University of Cincinnati backed up the Brink’s truck for Tuberville before the team’s bowl game. Cincinnati’s offer was so lucrative that Tuberville left Texas Tech in an unexpected and disrespectful manner.
The legend goes, according to junior college recruit Devonte Danzey, Tuberville stepped away from a team-sanctioned dinner in mid-December, never to return. Danzey didn’t know then, but Tuberville fielded a call from the Cincinnati Bearcats. After likely hearing the multi-million dollar contract waiting for him, he never returned to touch his meal. During a Tuberville-less campus tour the following day, Danzey and his fellow recruits learned about the latter’s departure to Cincinnati. Tuberville signed for $2.2 million and did not coach the team’s bowl game victory. This controversial departure from Texas Tech and his subsequent struggles at Cincinnati has been a topic of much debate among college football fans.
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