Tuberville Would Accept a Different Head Coaching Position The Next Day
Published on June 13th, 2022 12:52 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel
Tommy Tuberville, who is now a US Senator, coached for the likes of Auburn, Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati before making a foray into the world of politics. One famous Tommy Tuberville story came during his time at Texas Tech.
The story, which has been confirmed by one of the players that was in attendance, goes like this:
Three potential Texas Tech recruits - offensive lineman Devonte Danzey, offensive lineman Sunny Odogwu and wide receiver Javess Blue - were attending a dinner at the 50-Yard Line Restaurant in Lubbock, as part of their official visit.
In addition, there were reportedly up to 10 Texas Tech coaches present, as well as Tuberville himself.
The waitress brought the table their food.
At this point, Tuberville excused himself to go to the bathroom, and NEVER returned.
Tuberville, in fact, slipped out the back door and disappeared into the black of night.
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What had happened? Why had Tuberville bailed from the restaurant like he was on a bad date?
Nobody knew the answer until the next morning, when the players were scheduled to take a tour of the Texas Tech campus.
Offensive line coach Chris Thomsen ended up breaking them the news:
Tommy Tuberville was now the coach of the University of Cincinnati.
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There were no goodbyes, no explanations or anything of that sort.
Did Tuberville know before the dinner that he was going to be offered the job at the University of Cincinnati? Did he find out during the dinner via his cell phone? Why didn't he tell anybody?
Whatever the answer, Tuberville was gone, and the three potential Texas Tech recruits were left to watch Tuberville's press conference on TV.
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What made the news even more humorous is that one of Tuberville's two sons actually played for Texas Tech at the time.
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After a good start at Cincinnati, the team floundered, and Tuberville would end up resigning in 2016 after a 4-8 season.
