Tommy Tuberville’s run through Alabama politics has now taken him to the state’s top office.
The former Auburn coach defeated Democratic challenger Doug Jones to become Alabama’s next governor, winning by just over 4% of the vote. Tuberville will replace current governor Kay Ivey in January, when he is sworn in.
It’s the latest turn in a second career that has already carried him from the sideline to the U.S. Senate.
After more than two decades in coaching, Tuberville moved into Republican politics and entered the Alabama Senate race in 2020 against Jones, then the incumbent. Tuberville won that contest comfortably, finishing with just over 60% of the vote.
Before politics became his next act, Tuberville had already built a familiar name across Alabama and the Southeast. He took over at Ole Miss in 1995 and went 25-20 over four seasons with the Rebels.
His biggest stage arrived in 1999, when Auburn hired him away from Ole Miss. Tuberville’s 2004 team went 13-0, but the Tigers were left out of the BCS National Championship in favor of USC and Oklahoma, both undefeated as well. That season brought Tuberville National Coach of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year honors.
Across his Auburn tenure, Tuberville finished 85-40 and went 7-3 in the Iron Bowl, including a six-game winning streak from 2002-07.
He stepped down after the 2008 season, then returned to coaching in 2010 at Texas Tech. After three seasons there, he moved on to Cincinnati in 2012. Tuberville opened with two nine-win seasons with the Bearcats, but the results slipped, and he resigned after a 4-8 season in 2016.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Found The Message Trinidad Chambliss Needed Most
Trinidad Chambliss had been working through a rough patch, and Ole Miss needed a cleaner version of its quarterback when Auburn came into view. The answer, at least in the second half, was less about adding more to his plate and more about stripping things down. The coaching staff urged him to simplify his approach and trust his instincts, and the result was a noticeable turnaround after a sluggish start.
Pete Golding framed the fix in the most practical way possible: Chambliss needed to focus on doing his job instead of carrying outside expectations. For a quarterback trying to steady himself in the middle of a season, that kind of message can matter as much as any schematic adjustment. Ole Miss got the benefit of it against Auburn, and now the bigger question is whether that reset can carry over the next time the Rebels need him to be composed from the opening snap. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Heads Into Georgia With One Defensive Weakness Exposed
Ole Miss heads into a critical matchup with Georgia carrying a defensive concern that has been hard to ignore: tackling. It has been one of the clearest issues for Pete Goldings unit, and it comes at a bad time with the Bulldogs bringing an offense built to punish missed opportunities, especially with explosive plays and yards after contact.
Golding has already acknowledged the problem, but the Rebels do not appear headed for any major schematic overhaul before the game. That leaves Ole Miss trying to clean up one of its most visible weaknesses on the fly, with a season-shaping trip to Athens looming and little margin for error against a Georgia attack that can turn a small mistake into a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Got A Playoff Spotlight They Have To Handle
Ole Miss has landed in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026-27 season at No. 10, a sign that the Rebels have put themselves squarely in the national conversation. Coming off a win over Auburn, they have earned the kind of attention that brings both validation and pressure, especially with Georgia sitting at No. 2 and looming as the next major test on the schedule.
Pete Golding and his players have tried to keep the message simple: the rankings matter less than the games still ahead. That approach makes sense, because the trip through November can change everything in a hurry, and Georgia offers the kind of matchup that can either reinforce Ole Miss' standing or send the conversation in a different direction. [Read more 🡒]