Nowadays, when you get fired from a major college football program, the first thing you need to do is tell your mom so she can talk to the media for you (from espn.com).
"He didn't resign," Olive Tuberville told the Opelika-Auburn News. "He was fired."
The Opelika-Auburn News reported that Tuberville's mother said she felt her son was betrayed by Auburn "to a certain extent" after 85 wins and a Southeastern Conference championship.
"This went on too long," she said. "They had their minds made up days ago, I imagine. It was tough. He didn't know what to expect. All of his friends have stayed with him."
His mother said she has been worried about him.
"He's at an age where something could happen to him," she told the newspaper. "Heart problems are all through my family. I didn't want him getting stressed out. This has got to hurt -- as much as he's put into the program and done for the program."
Tuberville, 54, has referred to his departure from Auburn as "totally a business decision, what's best for Auburn." He said he plans to stay in Auburn and help the school if he can. He has not returned calls for further comment.
Athletic director Jay Jacobs last week said Tuberville's departure was completely Tuberville's decision, and that he and the university president, Jay Gogue, each asked Tuberville to remain. Jacobs said he and Gogue agreed to give Tuberville the same amount of money that would have been required to terminate his contract through a firing, $5.1 million, because they felt it was "the right thing to do."
If I'm Tommy Tuberville, I'm running straight home after school to tell mom to shut up. After you and the athletic director go to all of these great lengths to cover up the fact that they actually fired you, your mom feels the need to step in and tell the media how she is worried about you and that you were unfairly treated. It would usually not be that big of a deal, but when Auburn is offering you the rest of the 5.1 million dollars on your contract as a departing gift, the last thing you want to do is piss them off. If I'm Jay Jacobs, then I'm a little angry right now that Tommy's mom is talking shit about Auburn to anyone that will listen. 5.1 million dollars is not exactly ashtray money and it's not exactly something Auburn had to do. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear Auburn retract that 5.1 million because it was "the right thing to do." Thanks mom.
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