Tommy Tuberville
Tommy Tuberville went 159–99 as a head coach, 1995–2016, at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati. His 2004 Auburn team claims the national title. Share
- Record
- 159–99 career
- Seasons
- 21
- Schools
- 4
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 2004
- Born
- Sep 18, 1954
- Alma mater
- Southern Arkansas 1976
- Best season
- 2004 13–0, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Ole Miss | 6–5 | 5th (Western) | |||
| 1996 | Ole Miss | 5–6 | T–5th (Western) | |||
| 1997 | Ole Miss | 8–4 | T–3rd (Western) | Motor City Bowl W | 22 | |
| 1998 | Ole Miss | 6–5 | 4th (Western) | Independence (not coached) | ||
| 1999 | Auburn | 5–6 | 5th (Western) | |||
| 2000 | Auburn | 9–4 | 1st (Western) | SEC Championship Game L; Citrus Bowl L | 18 | |
| 2001 | Auburn | 7–5 | T–1st (Western) | Peach Bowl L | ||
| 2002 | Auburn | 9–4 | T–2nd (Western) | Capital One Bowl W | 14 | |
| 2003 | Auburn | 8–5 | 3rd (Western) | Music City Bowl W | ||
| 2004 | Auburn | 13–0 | 1st (Western) | Sugar Bowl W | 2 | |
| 2005 | Auburn | 9–3 | T–1st (Western) | Capital One Bowl L | 14 | |
| 2006 | Auburn | 11–2 | T–2nd (Western) | Cotton Bowl W | 9 | |
| 2007 | Auburn | 9–4 | 2nd (Western) | Chick-fil-A Bowl W | 15 | |
| 2008 | Auburn | 5–7 | T–4th (Western) | |||
| 2009: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2010 | Texas Tech | 8–5 | 5th (South) | TicketCity Bowl W | ||
| 2011 | Texas Tech | 5–7 | 9th | |||
| 2012 | Texas Tech | 7–5 | T–5th | Meineke Car Care (not coached) | ||
| 2013 | Cincinnati | 9–4 | 3rd | Belk Bowl L | ||
| 2014 | Cincinnati | 9–4 | T–1st | Military Bowl L | ||
| 2015 | Cincinnati | 7–6 | T–3rd (East) | Hawai’i Bowl L | ||
| 2016 | Cincinnati | 4–8 | T–4th (East) | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
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Rufus FrenchConsensus All‑American, 1998
Ben GrubbsNo. 29 pick, 2007- John AveryNo. 29 pick, 1998
- Kendall SimmonsNo. 30 pick, 2002
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 76 | 28–48 | 37% |
| Against top-10 teams | 40 | 18–22 | 45% |
| Against rivals | 111 | 59–52 | 53% |
| Conference games | 170 | 90–80 | 53% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 14 | 7–7 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 93 | 61–32 | 66% |
| At home | 137 | 97–40 | 71% |
| On the road | 101 | 53–48 | 52% |
| At neutral sites | 20 | 9–11 | 45% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 162 | 125–37 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 96 | 34–62 | 35% |
His own 258 games on file, 1995–2016, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Nutt 1998–2008 | 5–6 | Arkansas, Ole Miss | 11 | |
| Jackie Sherrill 1995–2003 | 5–4 | Mississippi State | 9 | |
| Mark Richt 2001–2008 | 3–5 | Georgia | 8 | |
| Phillip Fulmer 1996–2008 | 4–3 | Tennessee | 7 | |
| Nick Saban 2000–2008 | 4–3 | LSU, Alabama | 7 | |
| Steve Spurrier 1995–2006 | 3–4 | Florida, South Carolina | 7 | |
| David Cutcliffe 1999–2004 | 4–2 | Ole Miss | 6 | |
| Sylvester Croom 2004–2008 | 4–1 | Mississippi State | 5 | |
| Gerry DiNardo 1995–1999 | 3–2 | LSU | 5 | |
| Jim Donnan 1996–2000 | 3–2 | Georgia | 5 |
Tommy Tuberville’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Stateseries | 14 | 9–5 |
| Georgiaseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| LSUseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| Alabamaseries | 14 | 7–7 |
| Arkansasseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| Vanderbiltseries | 10 | 9–1 |
| Ole Missseries | 10 | 7–3 |
| Floridaseries | 8 | 3–5 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2004 Auburn: Bear Bryant Award and Walter Camp Coach
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Miami’s 1991 staff (linebackers) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Hermitage HS (AR) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1978–79 | Hermitage HS (AR) high school | Head coach | |
| 1980–84 | Arkansas State | Defensive backs, nose guards and linebackers coach | |
| 1986–92 | Miami (FL) | Assistant coach | |
| 1993 | Miami (FL) | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1994 | Texas A&M | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 1995–98 | Ole Miss | Head coach | |
| 1999–2008 | Auburn | Head coach | |
| 2010–12 | Texas Tech | Head coach | |
| 2013–16 | Cincinnati | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Larry LacewellArkansas State
- Jimmy JohnsonMiami
- Dennis EricksonMiami
- R.C. SlocumTexas A&M
Assistants who became head coaches
- Greg KnoxMississippi State, Florida
- Tony LevineHouston
- Bobby PetrinoLouisville, Arkansas, Western Kentucky, Atlanta Falcons, Missouri State
- Gene ChizikIowa State, Auburn
- David GibbsHouston
- Will MuschampFlorida, South Carolina
- Paul RhoadsIowa State
- Chad ScottWest Virginia
- Neal BrownTroy, West Virginia, North Texas
- Robert PruntyHargrave Military Academy (VA), Hampton
- Scott ParrNavarro, Texas A&M–Kingsville
- Sonny CumbieTexas Tech, Louisiana Tech
- and 2 more
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Lacewell | Arkansas State | 1980–84 | Defensive backs, nose guards and linebackers coach | |
| Jimmy Johnson | Miami | 1986–88 | Assistant coach | |
| Dennis Erickson | Miami | 1989–93 | 1989–92: assistant coach; 1993: defensive coordinator | |
| R.C. Slocum | Texas A&M | 1994 | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Knox | Ole Miss, 1995: wide receivers coach; 1996–98: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator; Auburn, 1999–2008: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator | Mississippi State, Florida | |
| Tony Levine | Auburn, 2000–01: graduate assistant | Houston | |
| Bobby Petrino | Auburn, 2002: offensive coordinator | Louisville, Arkansas, Western Kentucky, Atlanta Falcons, Missouri State | |
| Gene Chizik | Auburn, 2002–04: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Iowa State, Auburn | |
| David Gibbs | Auburn, 2005: defensive coordinator | Houston | |
| Will Muschamp | Auburn, 2006–07: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Florida, South Carolina | |
| Paul Rhoads | Auburn, 2008: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Iowa State | |
| Chad Scott | Texas Tech, 2010–12: running backs coach | West Virginia | |
| Neal Brown | Texas Tech, 2010–12: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Troy, West Virginia, North Texas | |
| Robert Prunty | Texas Tech, 2010–12: outside linebackers and defensive ends coach; Cincinnati, 2013: assistant head coach and defensive ends coach; 2014–16: assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | Hargrave Military Academy (VA), Hampton | |
| Scott Parr | Texas Tech, 2010–12: offensive quality control coach | Navarro, Texas A&M–Kingsville | |
| Sonny Cumbie | Texas Tech, 2010: graduate assistant; 2011–12: wide receivers coach | Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech | |
| Tyson Helton | Cincinnati, 2013: special teams and tight ends coach | Western Kentucky | |
| Zac Taylor | Cincinnati, 2016: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Cincinnati Bengals |
Other assistants under him (17)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Art Kaufman | Ole Miss, 1995–98: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Texas Tech, 2012: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Cincinnati, 2013: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Eddie Gran | Ole Miss, 1995–98: special teams and running backs coach; Auburn, 1999–2008: special teams and running backs coach; Cincinnati, 2013–15: offensive coordinator and running backs coach | |
| John Lovett | Ole Miss, 1995–98: defensive backs coach; Auburn, 1999–2001: defensive coordinator; Texas Tech, 2012: defensive backs coach | |
| Noel Mazzone | Ole Miss, 1995–98: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; Auburn, 1999–2001: offensive coordinator | |
| Derek Jones | Ole Miss, 1998: graduate assistant | |
| Hugh Nall | Auburn, 2003: offensive coordinator | |
| Steve Ensminger | Auburn, 2003: quarterbacks coach; 2004–08: tight ends coach; 2008: interim offensive coordinator | |
| Al Borges | Auburn, 2004–07: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| James Willis | Auburn, 2006–08: linebackers coach; Texas Tech, 2010–11: defensive coordinator | |
| Travaris Robinson | Auburn, 2006–07: graduate assistant; Texas Tech, 2010: defensive backs coach | |
| Tony Franklin | Auburn, 2007: offensive coordinator | |
| Tony Franklin | Auburn, 2008: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Chad Glasgow | Texas Tech, 2011: defensive coordinator | |
| Darin Hinshaw | Cincinnati, 2013–15: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Steve Clinkscale | Cincinnati, 2013–14: defensive backs coach; 2015: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Hank Hughes | Cincinnati, 2014: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Ryan Pugh | Cincinnati, 2014: graduate assistant |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Cincinnati | head coachbonuses up to $565,000; $70,000 in bonuses paid | $2,200,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Cincinnati | head coachbonuses up to $540,000; $140,000 in bonuses paid | $2,200,000 USA Today | |
| 2014 | Cincinnati | head coachbonuses up to $565,000 | $2,200,000 USA Today | |
| 2013 | Cincinnati | head coachbonuses up to $465,000 | $3,143,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2012 | Texas Tech | head coachbonuses up to $1,025,000 | $2,155,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2011 | Texas Tech | head coachbonuses up to $1,025,000 | $2,059,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2010 | Texas Tech | head coachbonuses up to $1,025,000 | $1,509,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Auburn | head coach | $2,850,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Auburn | head coachbonuses up to $717,500 | $2,625,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2006 | Auburn | head coachbonuses up to $716,154 | $2,231,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Tuberville’s teams went for it on 18% of fourth downs and on 30% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 51% of plays and took 23.5 seconds a play, 2004–2016.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 12 g | Auburn | 13 of 69 19% | 31% | 37% | 23.2 | +0.07 | |
| 2005 11 g | Auburn | 13 of 76 17% | 34% | 45% | 25.9 | +0.01 | |
| 2006 13 g | Auburn | 14 of 84 17% | 33% | 42% | 29.6 | −0.04 | |
| 2007 13 g | Auburn | 18 of 107 17% | 30% | 42% | 26.8 | −0.09 | |
| 2008 12 g | Auburn | 12 of 110 11% | 30% | 45% | 27.1 | −0.23 | |
| 2010 13 g | Texas Tech | 25 of 105 24% | 30% | 61% | 19.1 | +0.04 | |
| 2011 12 g | Texas Tech | 21 of 94 22% | 35% | 62% | 19.0 | +0.06 | |
| 2012 13 g | Texas Tech | 20 of 83 24% | 32% | 61% | 22.4 | +0.13 | |
| 2013 13 g | Cincinnati | 17 of 82 21% | 33% | 49% | 22.1 | +0.10 | |
| 2014 12 g | Cincinnati | 14 of 90 16% | 24% | 55% | 23.0 | +0.11 | |
| 2015 13 g | Cincinnati | 11 of 85 13% | 29% | 54% | 22.0 | +0.10 | |
| 2016 12 g | Cincinnati | 17 of 103 17% | 25% | 57% | 21.8 | −0.08 | |
| All 149 g | 195 of 1088 18% | 30% | 51% | 23.5 | +0.02 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.