Tuberville says rumors are not a distraction

Tommy Tuberville says rumors about his job status aren’t a distraction for his players.
His players seem to agree.
Tuberville’s name has been linked to a possible opening at Texas A&M, which reportedly plans to buy out head coach Dennis Franchione by the end of the season.
Tuberville, whose seven-year, $18-million contract won’t expire until 2011, says he’s focused on this weekend’s game against Georgia.
Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs has said repeatedly that he wants Tuberville to stay at Auburn; Jacobs recently called Tuberville’s recent deal “a lifetime commitment” on both sides.
The deal includes a $6 million buyout, which would complicate any move on Tuberville’s part.
The coach hasn’t ruled anything out. At his Tuesday press conference, he acknowledged A&M’s reported interest and spoke as if Franchione’s departure was an accomplished fact.
“I’ve got friends out there, obviously, and coached there,” said Tuberville, who was the Aggies’ defensive coordinator in 1994. “They’ve probably got 15 other people on the list.
“That’s the way it is. It’s good talk, that’s all it is.”
Franchione, addressing reporters at his own Tuesday press meeting, denied the rumors of buyout negotiations.
“I am not going to get into the rumor game with you guys,” Franchione said, according to the Associated Press. “There are no facts to that and I’m not into it. I’m sorry that you guys have to deal with it.”
Tuberville, meanwhile, is expected to discuss his contract with Jacobs and AU President Jay Gogue after the end of the regular season. But he said there’s no hurry.
“It’s better to wait,” Tuberville said. “We (talk) every year. That’s how it is done. There’s no reason to change that. There’s no urgency about anything.”
Tuberville could ask for an increase in his annual salary, scheduled to be $2.8 million in 2008. The deal he signed after the 2004 season called for annual raises of $200,000.
There’s also a chance Tuberville will discuss pay raises for his assistant coaches, who are already among the highest-paid assistants in the Southeastern Conference.
The five assistant coaches who followed Tuberville to Auburn from Ole Miss — Eddie Gran, Hugh Nall, Greg Knox, Terry Price, Don Dunn — have an interest in remaining at Auburn no matter what Tuberville’s decision. All five will be vested in the State of Alabama’s Employees’ Retirement System, which guarantees lifetime pension payments to any state employee with at least 10 years’ service.
But all that is for future conversations. Tuberville is not interested in talking about those details or any others for now.
He said he drove that point home to his players recently.
“As I told our players, that’s the least of our worries or anybody’s worries,” Tuberville said Tuesday.
Auburn’s players appear to have gotten the message.
“Nobody’s really talked about it,” quarterback Brandon Cox said. “Nobody’s discussed it. We know we have Georgia this week, and that’s all we are focused on.”
The players know Tuberville is in demand in part because of what they’ve accomplished on the field. That’s a point of pride for several Tigers, including noseguard Josh Thompson, who say they aren’t bothered that Tuberville seems to be in demand in College Station, Texas.
“Everyone wants him just because of what he’s done here,” Thompson said. “He’s a great coach. It’s always going to be a topic, year in and year out. You just have to deal with it. Whatever he does is what he does.”
And, Thompson pointed out, the ball is entirely in Tuberville’s court. If the coach doesn’t want to talk about it until after the season, there’s not much chance the situation will change.
“Nobody’s going to find out anything until he wants them to find it out,” Thompson said. “That’s the bottom line.”

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