A good man lost his job yesterday.  Tommy Tuberville "resigned" after ten years as the head football coach at Auburn.  His "resignation" probably came like a scene out of the Sopranos, as Tony and Big Pussy stood behind him, weapons drawn, urging him to make the right decision.  This move follows the "resignations" of Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee and Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State.

To any sane individual, Tuberville's parting of the ways at Auburn is puzzling.  The man has won 85 games in ten years or almost nine wins every year.  Prior to last weekends 36-0 loss in the Iron Bowl, Tuberville had beaten the Tide six consecutive times. This year, thanks to a poorly executed attempt at the spread offense, Tuberville had his first ever losing season on the plains.  In a world where mortal enemy Alabama is 12-0 and one game from playing for a national championship, that's a firing.

Why? With Alabama finally back to full strength at 85 scholarships after the Albert Means fallout and Nick Saban at the Capstone, Auburn is again taking a back seat to the Crimson Tide.  Recruits who would go to Auburn because they didn't like the direction of Bama's program or there were no rides left, are coming back to Tuscaloosa.  Auburn is clearly reduced to a second option for many Alabama high school players. And the trustees figure the only way to stem the tide (pun intended) is to change the coach and grab some headlines of their own. 

Auburn wanted to rid itself of Tuberville five years ago when a not so clandestine meeting occurred on a Kentucky tarmac between the then school AD and the then school president and then Louisville coach Bobby Petrino.  When the meeting was exposed, Tuberville was kept, and the President and AD eventually left the school in disgrace.

Tuberville responded with a perfect season and should have played for the national championship if not for the BCS.

With rising powers Alabama and Ole Miss and already formidable LSU in the SEC West mix, Auburn officials obviously believed that tinkering with the spread wasn't good enough; they needed a coach who could install it and run it effectively.  Don't think the people at Auburn don't know who their next coach.  All roads lead to Lubbock Texas and Mike Leach, who right now is holding Texas Tech hostage, similar to the way Rich Rod held West Virginia hostage a year before he left for Michigan.  No matter what Tech comes up with, Auburn can come up with more.  A lot more.  So, if Leach is the guy, he most likely will get every opportunity to come to Auburn.

Honestly, nothing short of signing a Leach will make this a good move for Auburn.  It's not that Tuberville is a bad coach and chances are, when Texas A&M tires of Mike Sherman (and that could be any day now) Tubs will have an opportunity to visit College Station.

One safe bet is that Tommy Tuberville, a man who is always one step ahead of the mob, will land safely on his feet and win at some other university.  Auburn may not be so lucky.