So Long, Tuberville. It's Been Real

In the end, Saban did it (so typical).
It was to a Nick Saban squad that ended the orange-and-blue reign of one of Auburn football's most liked and respected head coaches.

The 36-0 shutout to instate hyper-rival Alabama was too much for Tubby to wince away, to deflect, dodge and leap over. He had to lay on his sword this time.
I still can't believe Tommy Tuberville is out.
He did exactly what the great ones do. Win.
But even that wasn't enough for Tubby, even went undefeated in 2004 (13-0). But Tuberville, unlike 99 of 100 other coaches (what are the odds?) got zero. Zelch. Nada.
I'll say this: Tubby was a formidable opponent, that always fielded a team worthy of respect and honor. As an LSU fan, it was a privilege to look over from the Purple and Gold sideline to see his snarling at a referee and snickering to himself with his arms folded.
He'll be missed. He never backed down from a fight or battle. If a reporter mentioned a percieved superiority of an opponent, Tubby would fire back that his team could match them power to power. He was often wrong, but you had to love the gusto.
In the end, he simply ran out of time, made to look old and out of date by the new-breed coaches such as Urban Meyer, Saban and even Les Miles who fielded huge HeMen-like teenagers who could run, catch, juggle. The old school coach got schooled.

In 10 seasons at Auburn, Tuberville compiled an 85-40 record, reaching the No. 2 national ranking at the end of the 2004 campaign.

In tribute I post this Tuberville archive from the past 2 seasons, including some highs and lows for Auburn football.