Tuberville plans to stay put Thursday, December 23, 2004 By PHILLIP MARSHALL Times Sports Staff [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Auburn coach satisfied with new seven-year deal AUBURN - Football coach Tommy Tuberville welcomed Wednesday the selection of Jay Jacobs as Auburn's next director of athletics and said he has no interest in leaving for another job. Tuberville said he and interim president Ed Richardson have agreed in principle on a seven-year contract. "I'm excited," Tuberville said. "Today is a new beginning for Auburn athletics. It's been a long time coming." Tuberville squelched speculation that he will be among the leading candidates at LSU if Nick Saban accepts a job offer from the Miami Dolphins. "I'm the head coach at Auburn, will be the head coach at Auburn," Tuberville said. "We have worked on my contract. It is not signed, but we have agreed on the years and part of the salary. The main thing for me is security. The number of years will be seven. Jay has been in on this since this morning when we talked about it." Asked if he would listen should another school call, Tuberville responded quickly. "No," he said. "I'm done. Hopefully, it's a few more than seven years, but seven years is a good start." Tuberville said it will probably take some time for final language to be worked out and the contract to be signed. "It usually takes a couple of months," Tuberville said. "Ninety-nine percent of it is completed. It's just the legal things we have to go through." For the past year, Tuberville has worked with Hal Baird, athletics assistant to the president. Baird took over day-to-day operation of the athletic department last spring after David Housel announced he would step down in January. Baird plans to retire in March. "I think Hal Baird has done an excellent job in the situation he's been in," Tuberville said. "He's had to put this back together for the last 10-12 months." Tuberville will complete his sixth season at Auburn when the Tigers play Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3. The Tigers went 12-0 in the regular season for the first time in school history. A year after a group of trustees and athletic department officials made a clandestine trip to talk to Louisville coach Bobby Petrino about replacing him, Tuberville has long-term security. "What a turnaround," Tuberville said. "I'm excited about the support I got from Dr. Richardson and Coach Baird. I'm excited about the future." Tuberville met with Richardson and Jacobs on Monday afternoon. Tuberville said he is convinced Jacobs is the right man for the job. "If I didn't think he could handle it, I wouldn't have gone along with it," Tuberville said. "Dr. Richardson might have hired him anyway, but he asked my opinion and I gave it to him. "(Jacobs is) going to have my support and the support of my coaches and I'm sure other coaches. It can't be a one-man show. "It's like a football team. You have to have everybody pulling in the same direction." _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list RTF@rolltidefan.net http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
