Maybe Tuberville Should Worry About His Own Job

Maybe, just maybe, Tommy Tuberville needs to take a good look in the mirror. Because it might just happen that coach T himself is part of the change needed at Auburn.

Right or wrong, the Tigers were ranked as high as #10 in preseason polls. Following a loss tonight in Morgantown to a similarly-disappointing West Virginia squad, the Tigers stand at 4-4. If the folks down in Alabama think that's bad, imagine if their hometown team hadn't managed to squeak out a 3-2 win over Mississippi St. and a 14-12 victory at home over Tennessee? A 2-5 start with an 0-5 mark in the SEC, and we might not be having this conversation as Tuberville would have been shown the door.

As it is, Auburn is in trouble. But, to date, most of the murmurs have managed to most Tuberville. Instead, much of the attention focused on the dismissal of offensive coordinator Tony Franklin whose seven-game tenure, in which he looked to bring a new spread-style offense, was deemed a failure by, well, whoever the powers-that-be are at Auburn. He was politely shown the door only two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Tuberville lives on. But his seat has to be getting notably toastier. Despite a ridiculous record over the past few years, Auburn fans are notoriously demanding of their football program. .500 and a losing record in the SEC ain't cutting it. Neither will missing out on a bowl game. The Tigers have been to the postseason 9 of Tuberville's 10 seasons and made eight consecutive trips.

However, the postseason is far from a guarantee with this squad. The remainder of the schedule includes a trip to Oxford this weekend to face an improved Ole Miss team, followed by Tennessee Martin. After that, it's home for Georgia and then on the road to face the Tide in Tuscaloosa. Call me crazy, but 5-7 is not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, it's quite feasible. It would be a sobering reality for Auburn fans and, undoubtedly, mean the end for Tuberville.

It will be interesting to watch how this drama unfolds over the course of the last month of the season. We bet sports talk radio down in Auburn Tigers country is quite entertaining these days.

posted at 11:30 PM