Tuberville In A Hurry To Get Started At Auburn

Although college coaches, the teachers of football and basketball in particular, might be accurately called a modern American band of gypsies with their constant comings and goings, Tommy Tuberville says he hopes he is at Auburn to stay.

Tuberville, wife Suzanne and sons Thomas Tucker, 4, and Troy, 2

Introduced Saturday as the new football coach of the Tigers at a press conference at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center, Tuberville pledged his allegiance to the Tigers less than 48 hours after coaching his final game at Ole Miss. Even before he was formally announced as head coach, Tuberville was evaluating film of recruits, talking with potential assistants and touring campus facilities so he can hit the ground running.

Athletic Director David Housel, who says Tuberville was a prime candidate from the start of his coaching search, says it is time for Auburn football to focus on the future after a traumatic 3-8 season that was troubled from the preseason to the finish with problems both on and off the field. "The nightmare is over," Housel says. "We have the right man for the job and I am excited about the direction of this program."

Tuberville, who turned 44 in September, said, "We are excited to be in Auburn and plan on being here a long, long time. This is the kind of program I've spent my entire career dreaming about coaching in. Auburn is the kind of place where you can win championships and we plan on doing that.

"We've been involved in some good programs along the way, but we plan on Auburn being the last stop. Auburn is the place to raise our boys and fulfill our dreams. I've already been touched by the Auburn spirit. The warmth and hospitality shown us in just a short time affirms what I believed when I accepted this position. We plan on this being our last stop."

Despite just a 25-20 overall record, and a 12-20 league mark in four seasons at Ole Miss, Housel says he is excited about bringing Tuberville in to replace Terry Bowden, who posted a 47-17-1 record at Auburn, and Bill Oliver, who was 2-3 as interim head coach after Bowden decided not to coach the Tigers anymore after learning his days at AU were numbered. Tuberville says he will try to talk Oliver in to remaining on the coaching staff and says he will be talking with other Auburn assistants, but says he isn't sure if he will offer any of the current Tiger coaches positions on his new staff.

Tuberville is expected to bring four to six of his Ole Miss assistants to Auburn and says he hopes to have most of the staff in place by Tuesday when coaches can hit the recruiting trail again following a dead period. Tuberville says his top two priorities are recruiting and developing a relationship with the current Tigers, who he is scheduled to address Monday afternoon for the first time. With the university on a week-long Thanksgiving holiday, Tiger players have been at home since their season-ending loss to Alabama that put a conclusion to a miserable three-win campaign. That group made it very clear that Oliver was their choice to be named head coach. However, Oliver took his name out of contention on Tuesday after learning that he would not be getting the job.

Housel says, "You can't be around the Southeastern Conference over the last several years and not be impressed with the job Tommy Tuberville has done at Ole Miss. At a time when most expected the Ole Miss program to be down due to scholarship sanctions, he not only kept the program competitive, he won. Tommy is one of the most sought after young coaches in America. We are extremely happy he is coming here to build on our tradition and establish Auburn as a football power into the next century."

Auburn President William Muse says he has been impressed with what he has seen from Tuberville. "I believe he is a coach who will do a good job for Auburn and is a person who Auburn people will enjoy getting to know."

Tuberville and his wife Suzanne have a pair of boys, four-year-old Thomas Tucker and two-year-old Troy Allen. They were present at his introduction Saturday at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center along with other Tuberville relatives.

Tuberville, who inherited a devastated Ole Miss program that was allowed to sign just 12 scholarship players his first two years there, thanked Ole Miss fans and officials for his first opportunity to be a head coach. He says that money wasn't the motivating factor in his move to Auburn. "The chance to win an NCAA Championship at Auburn is what excites me about this job," he says.