What's going on with football coach Tommy Tuberville? Are there sticking points in his contract negotiations? Jordan has no answers, but he's curious, too.
``From my perspective, I would feel a whole lot better if there were some announcements coming out of the athletic department that indicated at least agreement in principle to the new contract,'' Jordan, president of the Auburn Alumni Association, said Wednesday.
``I assume negotiations are ongoing.''
Tuberville met with Auburn President Jay Gogue and athletic director Jay Jacobs on Monday, two days after the 23rd-ranked Tigers won a school-record sixth consecutive meeting with rival Alabama. Tuberville spent most of Tuesday huddled with Jacobs, too.
Tuberville was out of the office Wednesday, and the two didn't meet.
The coach is also scheduled to be out Thursday and Friday and spend four days after that in New York City for the College Football Hall of Fame festivities, athletics department spokesman Kirk Sampson said.
Neither Tuberville nor Jacobs immediately responded to messages left seeking comment Wednesday.
Among the topics believed to be under discussion are a contract extension, multiyear deals for Tuberville's assistants and facilities upgrades such as a full-sized indoor practice field.
The lengthy discussions add to a season when rumors abounded about Tuberville being a candidate for the Texas A job Houston Texans assistant Mike Sherman was introduced Monday and now for the still-available Arkansas post in his home state.
``I would find it hard to believe,'' Mike Hubbard, president of The Auburn Network, said of Tuberville leaving for another job. ``I work pretty closely with coach Tuberville. Maybe I'm just seeing it the way I want to see it, but it seems to me like he's pretty happy in Auburn. I think it's a great situation. He and his family enjoy living in Auburn, and I think he's good for Auburn.''
Hubbard said he believes Tuberville did have some matters he wanted to address with Auburn and believes the university is willing to address them.
``He has never told me that he's interested in going anywhere else,'' Hubbard said.
Maybe he's not. Tuberville had a massive new house completed in Auburn earlier this year and has spent nine mostly successful seasons with the Tigers, including a 13-0 record in 2004.
Talk radio and Internet message boards have been awash with rumors and queries from anxious fans since the regular-season finale, wondering what's taking so long and is there a problem.
``You can excuse a 17 year-old kid for not understanding what the word 'commitment' means, but Tubbs made a 7 year one three years ago,'' wrote ``wadesworld'' in a post on The Huntsville Times' Web site. ``Renegotiate it fine. But do it straight up without the games.''
``TigerRT'' chimed in with similar sentiment.
``I hope Tuberville stays but he needs to make a commitment or leave,'' the poster wrote.
Hubbard and Jordan don't think there's any reason for Auburn fans to panic. Negotiating multimillion contracts is no simple matter, after all.
``I'm not at this point alarmed, because you don't go out and have lunch and instantly have a contract and say everything's been resolved,'' said Jordan, son of the late Auburn coach Ralph ``Shug'' Jordan.
``It seems to me like it's a pretty orderly process and it's going through the way it ought to,'' Hubbard said. ``I certainly want him to stay and believe that he will.''
Tuberville is three seasons into a seven-year contract signed in February 2005. The current deal would pay him an average of $3.1 million over the next four years with a $6 million buyout if he leaves for another job.
Tuberville's agent, Jimmy Sexton, did not return a phone message Wednesday.
If the negotiations drag on, will the situation wear away some of the good will Tuberville has built up during his tenure?
``Hopefully this will all be settled very quickly, so it won't come to that,'' Hubbard said. ``I don't think it will happen. Coach Tuberville has never impressed me as one who tries to hold anyone over a barrel.
``I think he is interested in doing a good job, and having all the tools to do a good job.''
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/11/204420