Over the past month, Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach now serving as an Alabama Senator, has faced a series of setbacks in his public image. His recent political remarks, including a misunderstanding of former President Donald Trump’s promise to exempt service worker tips from federal income tax, have garnered substantial criticism. On Monday, Tuberville urged Trump to return the country to the way he remembered from his youth, despite having grown up in the South during the era of Jim Crow laws. However, these controversies are overshadowed by an unsettling tale from Tuberville’s coaching days at Auburn, which resurfaced earlier this month.
During a recent episode of The McCready and Siskey Podcast, co-host Tyler Siskey, a former Auburn Tigers wide receiver, recounted a surprising and karma-infused anecdote about his interactions with Tuberville. Football enthusiasts are revisiting the infamous incident when Tuberville, then head coach at Texas Tech, abruptly left a team dinner to accept the head coaching position at Cincinnati. This sudden move stunned many and ignited widespread debate among fans.
Tommy Tuberville Uncermonoius transition from Texas Tech to Cincinnati
In terms of achievements, Tommy Tuberville and the Auburn football program enjoyed a dominant period in the early 2000s. Under Tuberville’s guidance, the team participated in eight consecutive bowl games from 2000 to 2007, highlighted by an undefeated season and a Sugar Bowl triumph in 2004. However, following a disappointing 5-7 season in 2008 and the dismissal of his offensive coordinator, the 69-year-old coach resigned. After a brief hiatus, Tuberville returned to college football, taking over as head coach at Texas Tech following the departure of Mike Leach.
Despite his previous successes, Tuberville struggled to replicate them at Texas Tech, managing a record of 20-17. Nevertheless, the University of Cincinnati presented Tuberville with a lucrative offer just before Texas Tech’s bowl game. The offer was so substantial that Tuberville unexpectedly left Texas Tech in a manner that many considered disrespectful.
According to a story circulating among college football circles, junior college recruit Devonte Danzey recalled Tuberville abruptly leaving a team dinner in mid-December and never returning. Unbeknownst to Danzey at the time, Tuberville had received a call from Cincinnati offering him a multi-million dollar contract. Tuberville allegedly left the dinner upon hearing the news, foregoing even finishing his meal. The next day, during a campus tour without Tuberville, Danzey and other recruits learned of Tuberville’s departure to Cincinnati, where he signed a $2.2 million deal but did not coach Texas Tech in their subsequent bowl game victory.
Not surprised. Dude is Satan. https://t.co/nlJjY9Niau
— FOST (@GeorgeFoster72) June 10, 2024
This controversial departure from Texas Tech, followed by mixed results at Cincinnati, has remained a contentious topic among college football enthusiasts.
Tommy Tuberville, while head coach at Texas Tech, left a recruit *in the middle of dinner* to go take another job (from which he was ultimately fired). One of the slimier ones in a profession full of them (football coaches AND legislators). https://t.co/GLcA3tsWHV
— Cheese For Everyone! (@CheeseForEvery1) June 10, 2024
Joe Biden is a garbage human being. https://t.co/cpGogwPSb9
— Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville) March 12, 2024
Yeah man, this is the other side of that player movement coin. If you didn’t have certain coaches doing stuff like this for decades it’d be one thing https://t.co/gvOBT4S2qg
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) June 10, 2024
Tommy Tuberville!❤️🤍💙🇺🇸🫡
— MAGA-RON (@Imnotrippin) June 9, 2024
Tommy Tuberville on Trump's mouth noises about tax-free tipping: "I think that's awesome. We've all tipped before." pic.twitter.com/kYVTQVD1BQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 17, 2024
Never Burn Bridges, you will be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. https://t.co/4HSgXMy0cY
— Coach Peterson (@DauntaPeterson) June 11, 2024
Tuberville Karma Costs Auburn Football Three-Time National Championship Winning Quarterback
This month, social media has been flooded with troubling accounts about Tommy Tuberville. The catalyst for these stories seems to be Tyler Siskey of the McCready and Siskey Podcast, who shared how his relationship with Tuberville shaped college football in the late 2000s. Siskey, once a wide receiver at Auburn, recounted how Tuberville abruptly cut him loose after recruiting additional wide receivers. Tuberville handed Siskey his pre-signed release forms with a blunt message: “Tyler, I signed six wide receivers yesterday. If you still want to play, it won’t be here. Do you want your release?”
Siskey also detailed another incident where Tuberville similarly released a different Auburn player from his scholarship without notice. These actions, devoid of compassion, would later come back to haunt Tuberville. In 2007, Siskey, now at St. Paul’s Episcopal, crossed paths with Tuberville when the coach came to recruit players. Upon recognizing Siskey, Tuberville tried to mend fences, but Siskey remained unmoved. “If they ask me about you, I’ll tell them the truth,” he told Tuberville. As a result, Tuberville failed to recruit any players from St. Paul’s Episcopal, including future stars like three-time BCS National Champion A.J. McCarron and All-American safety Mark Barron.
