Tuberville to get `substantial' raise
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
CHARLES GOLDBERG
News staff writer
AUBURN - Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville could sign a new contract by the end of the week that will provide long-term security and a handsome raise.
The contract will be five to seven years and will make Tuberville one of the highest-paid coaches in the Southeastern Conference, said Auburn interim President Ed Richardson on Monday. The contract could pay Tuberville at least $2 million per year with guarantees. Richardson did not identify the amount, but called the raise "substantial."
Tuberville, whose current contract is five years at $1.5 million annually, has led Auburn to its best season in history, currently at 12-0 and heading for the Sugar Bowl to play Virginia Tech on Jan. 3. He is also in line for at least $300,000 in performance bonuses this year.
Tuberville has a 50-24 record in six seasons at Auburn.
Richardson met with Tuberville late Monday afternoon and quickly agreed on the principles of the new deal.
"It's down to small things," Richardson said. "We're going to make our contract available certainly this week. He'll have it. When he agrees to it, we'll be ready to go."
Richardson said he expected a counteroffer, but no stumbling blocks.
Richardson is also moving on another athletic front, saying he expected to name a new athletics director today.
Auburn senior associate athletic director Jay Jacobs and LSU senior associate athletics director Dan Radakovich are the front-runners for the job.
Richardson said last Friday that he wanted to rework Tuberville's contract after the Sugar Bowl, but acknowledged that timetable was accelerated Monday.
"When I looked at it, he needs the security now," Richardson said. "Some people are coming after him, perhaps. In recruiting, people are asking him. Evidently, he's got all kinds of recruits crawling all over him. They need to know.
"I wasn't holding it up. I thought that's what he wanted to do. The answer is yes: We have accelerated it."
Richardson will study at least two models: The seven-year contract that new Florida coach Urban Meyer received earlier this month and the guaranteed contract of LSU coach Nick Saban.
Florida guaranteed much of Meyer's package, which is $14 million over seven years. Meyer's buyout is always half of the remaining contract. Saban is working under a seven-year contract that paid him $2.3 million this season and will grow to a base of $3 million in the final year of the contract in 2010.
Richardson said Tuberville won't emerge as the highest-paid coach in the SEC, "but he'll be in the top tier, as he should be," Richardson said.
It's been a turnaround season for Tuberville, who survived an attempt by former Auburn President William Walker to oust him last year. Tuberville has been named national coach of the year by several organizations and his team rolled through most of the schedule.
Richardson said he hoped to name his athletics director this afternoon. Auburn has been looking for a new AD since David Housel said he was stepping down last March.
Richardson said he asked Tuberville for his opinion on the new AD, but said neither Tuberville nor trustees would make the final decision.
"I'll tell you the same I said to him: I can't have trustees, nor can I have the football coach, telling me how to make the call, but I'm taking input. I told him just sort of tell me what you need."
Richardson said he has leaned heavily on Hal Baird, the athletic assistant to the president, in the evaluation process. Richardson said all four of the candidates - Jacobs, Radakovich, LSU associate AD Greg McGarity and NBC-Universal executive Scott Etheridge - are still in the running. But he added, "It's really been a tossup with two."
Jacobs and Radakovich have been considered the front-runners for several weeks. Richardson said the delay in the selection has been because of new "information" that comes into his office.
"People come up and say, `Did you know this, or I've heard that, or this person says, if you don't know by Thursday, he's out, or something.' It's just like chasing rabbits," Richardson said.
"I'll just tell you the problem: I've had four good candidates. I felt at least three of them had a lot of experience, well-qualified, all could do it, and I couldn't find that tiebreaker to separate the three. That's really what I've struggled with. I've never had so much trouble making a decision in my life."
Click to expand...
