Tommy Tuberville Thomas Hawley Tuberville ( born September 18 , 1954 ) is an American football coach and former player . He is currently the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati , a position he accepted on December 8 , 2012 . Tuberville served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 1995 to 1998 , at Auburn University from 1999 until 2008 , and at Texas Tech University from 2010 to 2012 . Tuberville was the 2004 recipient of the Walter Camp and Bear Bryant Coach of the Year awards after Auburn ' s 13 – 0 season , in which his team won the Southeastern Conference title and the Sugar Bowl , but was left out of the BCS National Championship Game . Tuberville earned his 100th career win on October 6 , 2007 , in a 35 – 7 victory over Vanderbilt . He is the only coach in Auburn football history to beat in - state rival Alabama six consecutive times . In 2011 , Tuberville was elected second vice president of the American Football Coaches Association . According to AFCA tradition , he will move up to first vice president in 2012 and president in 2013 . Early years . Tuberville was born and raised in Camden , Arkansas . He graduated from Harmony Grove High School in Camden in 1972 . He received a B . S . degree in physical education from Southern Arkansas University in 1976 . Coaching career . Early career . Tuberville coached at Hermitage High School in Arkansas to begin his career . Tuberville was an assistant coach at Arkansas State University . He then went through the ranks at the University of Miami , beginning as graduate assistant and ending as defensive coordinator in 1993 and winning the national championship three times during his tenure there ( 1986 – 1994 ) . In 1994 , Tuberville replaced Bob Davie as defensive coordinator under R . C . Slocum at Texas A & M University . The Aggies went 10 – 0 – 1 that season . Ole Miss . Tuberville got his first collegiate head coaching job in 1994 at the University of Mississippi . He took over a Rebel team under severe NCAA scholarship sanctions and was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 1997 by the AP . During his tenure , he acquired the nickname " The Riverboat Gambler " for his aggressive play calling , particularly on 4th down . While at Mississippi Tuberville made the statement , " They ’ ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box , " in reference to not leaving to coach at another school . Two days after he made that statement , it was announced that he was departing for Auburn . Auburn . He left Mississippi following the 1998 regular season to take the head coaching job at Auburn University . During his tenure at Auburn , Tuberville guided the Tigers to the top of the SEC standings , leading the Tigers to an SEC Championship and the Western Division title in 2004 . Under his direction , the Tigers made eight consecutive bowl appearances including five New Year ' s Day bowl berths . The Auburn Tigers were a perfect 13 – 0 in 2004 including the SEC title and a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl . Tuberville received Coach of the Year awards from the Associated Press , the American Football Coaches Association , the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and the Walter Camp Football Foundation . In 2005 , despite losing the entire starting backfield from the unbeaten 2004 team to the first round of the NFL Draft , Tuberville led Auburn to a 9 – 3 record , finishing the regular season with victories over rivals Georgia and Alabama . Under Tuberville , Auburn had a winning record against its biggest rival , Alabama ( 7 – 3 ) , and was tied with its next two most significant rivals , Georgia ( 5 – 5 ) and LSU ( 5 – 5 ) . He led Auburn to 6 straight victories over in - state rival Alabama , the longest win streak in this rivalry since 1982 , which was the year Auburn broke Alabama ' s 9 - year winning streak . Tuberville also established himself as one of the best big game coaches in college football , winning 9 of their last 15 games against Top 10 opponents ( since the start of the 2004 season ) . In 2006 , his Tigers recorded victories over two Top 5 teams who later played in BCS bowls , including eventual BCS Champion Florida . Tuberville had a 5 – 2 career record versus Top 5 teams , including three wins versus Florida . However , Tuberville developed a reputation for losing games where he clearly had the better team . Examples include a humbling 24 - point loss to a then 4 – 5 Alabama team in 2001 , and a loss to Vanderbilt — the first time Auburn lost to the Commodores in over five decades — and Arkansas in 2008 . In fact , after dropping three straight SEC games in 2003 , Auburn booster Bobby Lowder , along with Auburn ' s President Walker and Athletic Director Housel , contacted then Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino to gauge his interest in taking the Auburn job , if Tuberville was fired . The press found out about the meeting , which occurred just prior to the 2003 Alabama game , and the episode has since been referred to as ' JetGate ' . Tuberville coached 19 players who were selected in the NFL draft , including four first round picks in 2004 , with several others signing as free agents . He coached 8 All - Americans and a Thorpe Award winner ( Carlos Rogers ) . Thirty - four players under Tuberville were named to All - SEC ( First Team ) . Eighteen players were named All - SEC freshman . His players were named SEC player of the week 46 times . He also had 2 SEC players of the year and one SEC Championship game MVP . Tuberville fired Tony Franklin as the offensive coordinator of Auburn on October 8 , 2008 . After the 2008 season , with a 5 – 7 record highlighted by losses to Vanderbilt , West Virginia , and a final 36 – 0 loss to Alabama , he resigned from Auburn . Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs claimed that Tuberville voluntarily resigned . Jacobs added : " To say the least , I was a little shocked . But after three times of asking him would he change his mind , he convinced me that the best thing for him and his family and for this football program was for him to possibly take a year off and take a step back . " With his departure , Tuberville will be paid a pro - rated buyout of $ 5 . 1 million . The payments include $ 3 million within 30 days of his resignation date and the remaining amount within a year later . Following his departure from Auburn , during the 2009 football season , Tuberville worked as an analyst for Buster Sports and ESPN , discussing the SEC and the Top 25 on various television shows and podcasts . He also appears with a cameo in " The Blind Side " . In 2012 Tuberville and John Stroud , partners in investment firm TS Capital Partners LLC , were sued by seven plaintiff s in United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama for alleged failure to file tax returns and for falsifying documents and co - mingling investors ' funds during Tuberville ' s time at Auburn University . Through attorney at law Vic Hayslip of Birmingham , Alabama , Tuberville denied the allegations and promised to defend " vigorously " against them . Texas Tech . On December 31 , 2009 , Tuberville expressed interest in becoming the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team . The position was left open after the university fired Mike Leach . On January 9 , 2010 , Tuberville was named head coach and was introduced at a press conference on Sunday , January 10 , 2010 . On January 1 , 2011 , Tuberville became the second head coach in Texas Tech football history to win a bowl game in his first season — an accomplishment unmatched since DeWitt Weaver ' s first season in 1951 / 52 . On January 18 , 2011 , Texas Tech announced that Tuberville received a one - year contract extension and a $ 500 , 000 per year raise in salary . The extension and raise gave Tuberville a $ 2 million per - year salary through the 2015 season . At the beginning of Tuberville ' s first year at Texas Tech , season ticket sales increased from the previous record of 30 , 092 to 46 , 546 . Additionally , Tuberville is responsible for the highest - rated recruiting class in Texas Tech history , securing the nationally 18th - ranked recruiting class in 2011 according to Rivals . com and the 14th best in the country according to Scout . com . On November 10 , 2012 , during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks , Tuberville became involved in a dispute with graduate assistant Kevin Oliver . Tuberville touched him and knocked off both Oliver ' s hat and his headset . After the game , Tuberville initially explained the incident by stating that he was aiming for Oliver ' s shirt in an attempt to pull him off the field . Two days later in his weekly press conference Tuberville apologized , citing his desire to set a better example for his two sons , one of them being on the team . Although Tuberville continued to run Leach ' s wide - open " Air Raid " spread offense , he was never really embraced by a fan base still smarting over the popular Leach ' s ouster . Tuberville left Texas Tech with an overall record of 20 – 17 and 9 – 17 in Big 12 conference play . Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt revealed that Tuberville had assured him that he was committed to Texas Tech , however Tuberville then left for Cincinnati the very next day . Additionally , Tuberville reportedly left two potential Texas Tech recruits at a restaurant for a dinner he had invited them to . He left the restaurant and did not return after receiving a phone call that revealed he had got the job at Cincinnati . Cincinnati . On December 8 , 2012 , Tuberville resigned as head coach at Texas Tech in order to accept the same position at Cincinnati with a $ 2 . 2 million contract . Cincinnati ' s athletic director , Whit Babcock , had previously worked with Tuberville at Auburn ; the two have been friends for several years . Tuberville ' s came only a day after he promised Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt that he would return to Texas Tech for the 2013 season . On December 9 an article in the " Lubbock Avalanche - Journal " pointed out that Cincinnati is merely 30 miles from Guilford , Indiana , home of Tuberville ' s wife Suzanne . Coaching tree . Assistant coaches under Tommy Tuberville who became NCAA head coaches : Personal life and community involvement . Tuberville is married to Suzanne ( née Fette ) of Guilford , Indiana , approximately 30 miles west of the coach ' s job in Cincinnati , Ohio . Suzanne and Tommy Tuberville are the parents of two sons — Tucker and Troy . In a January 2010 interview in which Tuberville discussed various aspects of his personal outlook and his life beyond coaching , he described how he and Suzanne , both teetotalers , chanced to meet in Pat O ' Brien ' s Hurricane Bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans . The year was 1989 when Tommy was coaching defense for the University of Miami Hurricanes and Suzanne — based in Boise , Idaho , and employed by Newhouse Newspapers — was in New Orleans to work on a convention . They talked between tables for an hour , and he gave her his business card , finding her especially interesting because , although she , being from a small town in Indiana , was a fan of Bobby Knight and knew a lot about basketball , she " had no clue " about football . The Hurricanes were to play in the 1989 Sugar Bowl in the Louisiana Superdome , and Suzanne did not know what the Sugar Bowl was ; thus he found her attractive . During his time at Auburn , Tuberville participated actively in the Auburn Church of Christ and contributed time and resources to other organizations within the Auburn community including Storybook Farm , an equestrian - based program offering free therapeutic care to children with debilitating illnesses and those suffering from bereavement . Additionally , he hosted charity golf tournaments for Camp ASCAA , the Girls and Boys Club of Montgomery , the Auburn University Marching Band , and the Alabama Sheriffs ' Youth Ranches . Tommy Tuberville has indicated his other interests as " NASCAR , golf , football , hunting and fishing , . . . [ and ] America ' s military " ; he is a director for Morale Entertainment , which provides National Collegiate Athletic Association for tours among deployed U . S . servicemembers . Despite 15 years of coaching at a prominent level , Tuberville , according to an article by Jennifer Ritz in " Texas Techsan " , claimed in 2010 that the most high profile activity he had ever done was in 2009 between his stints at Auburn and Texas Tech , when he appeared in the Oscar - winning film " The Blind Side " . Head coaching record . < small > * Bowl game coached by David Cutcliffe < small > < small > * Bowl game coached by Chris Thomsen < small >