Originally, I would call total BS on this (not mine, just a rumor flying around in emails)... why would Auburn even want Tuberville gone and hire Nutt? After seeing Chizik hired, possibly Jacobs did want Nutt. I'm not buying it, but it's certainly more believable today than it would have been a week ago.
Thoughts?
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The night of the Alabama-Auburn game after Auburn gets drilled 36-0 a
prominent Auburn booster and board member (not the bank owning one, the
yellow cowboy hat wearing one) calls Houston Nutt to inquire what it might
take for him to come to the turdliest village on the plains. Apparently
stealing Ole Miss coaches is a pasttime in Auburn.
Well, as we may recall Tubbs got a somewhat unique non-interference clause
in his last contract following Jetgate. Auburn pledged to Tuberville that
neither the school president nor athletics director or anyone acting under
their authority "shall discuss or negotiate directly or indirectly Auburn's
prospective employment of any other person as Head Football Coach of Auburn"
without giving Tuberville prior notice. In non-lawyerese it basically means
that if Auburn got caught monkeying around with a new coach behind Tubbs'
back again he gets paid alot.
Unfortunately for Auburn, Nutt's agent is Jimmy Sexton. Tubbs' agent is
Jimmy Sexton. Whoopsie.
Tubbs walks in the following Monday discussing his intentions to resign and
wants his money now that he knows his contract has been breached. Multi-day
discussions ensue and end with Tuberville's official resignation on December
3 and Auburn paying him the buyout anyway because it "is the right thing to
do." Yes, its the right thing under the contract, otherwise who pays buyouts
for resignations right?
Now, guess who Gene Chizik's agent is? Right, Jimmy Sexton. Nutt gets a
salary bump (more money for Jimmy) and an extension. Now, how does Auburn
keep Jetgate II from hitting the front of ESPN in an embarrassing manner?
Hmmm, perhaps by hiring a Sexton client who needs to get out of his personal
football coaching hell known as Iowa State? How else is he going to go
anywhere with that 5-19 record.
This seems to explain the inexplicable way in which this all went down.