Tom Groeschen

tgroeschen@enquirer.com

Tommy Tuberville stepped down as University of Cincinnati football head coach Sunday, after saying recently that he had planned to stay with the program.

Tuberville was under intense pressure from some UC fans as the Bearcats slipped to a 4-8 record this season, the program’s worst since also going 4-8 in 2010.

The 62-year-old Tuberville had a 29-22 record in four years at UC, going 9-4, 9-4, 7-6 and then 4-8. UC won a share of the 2014 American Athletic Conference title and went to bowl games in Tuberville’s first three years. Tuberville is 159-99 in 21 years as a college head coach.

“It’s something we’ve worked on together,” UC athletic director Mike Bohn told The Enquirer, speaking of Tuberville’s departure. “It was very professional, very candid.”

Bohn said UC will conduct a national search for a new coach.

“It’s wide open,” Bohn said.

Who's next for Bearcat football?

Western Kentucky coach Jeff Brohm, Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck and former Texas coach Charlie Strong will be the top three candidates targeted by UC to replace Tuberville, sources told The Enquirer on Sunday night.

Tuberville in a press release issued by UC, said:

"After much thought and reflection, I have decided to step down and resign from my position here at the University of Cincinnati. I want to thank the board of trustees, the administration, the fans and the University for these last four years. I also want to thank our coaches, staff and anyone associated within our athletic department. Most of all, I will miss these players but know these young men will turn out to be outstanding leaders in the world and for me that is what it’s all about. I am not done coaching and I look forward to my next challenge. Go Bearcats!”

Tuberville recently said he hoped to become an athletic director once he got out of coaching.

Tuberville also recently said he had not come to UC to retire, after exchanging heated words with a fan following a 20-3 loss to BYU on Nov. 5. Tuberville apologized for that incident.

“I’m here to build a program,” Tuberville said, a few days after the BYU game. “I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t come here to leave. I came here to stay, and our program is much better right now than it was when I got here.”

Tommy Tuberville timeline at UC

Tuberville had previous head coaching stops at Ole Miss, Auburn and Texas Tech. He was 25-20 at Ole Miss from 1995-98, then 85-40 at Auburn from 1999-2008, then 20-17 at Texas Tech from 2010-12.

The Enquirer has reached out to Tuberville for further comment, but Tuberville has yet to respond.

At UC, Tuberville replaced Butch Jones when Jones left for Tennessee in December 2012. Then-UC athletic director Whit Babcock hired Tuberville the day after Jones left.

Bohn said that UC players have been informed of the move. Bohn said he also was to meet with UC assistant coaches on Sunday, with no word on what happens there. At least some of the assistants are expected to depart, per usual in a college football head-coaching change.

Some had thought UC kept Tuberville partially to show continuity in the school's bid to join the Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 eventually announced it would not expand, leaving UC in the AAC.

PLAYER REACTION: UC junior kicker Andrew Gantz said it was hard to digest Tuberville’s exit.

“I woke up to some texts I didn’t want to hear,” Gantz said. “I’m getting a little choked up right now just talking about it, but it’s the nature of the beast. (Tuberville) was like a father figure. I give a lot of my credit, on the field and off the field, to that guy. He’s done so much for us.”

Junior tight end Tyler Cogswell said that some were caught off guard by Tuberville’s exit.

“It was a little bit surprising, because we just had our banquet on Saturday,” Cogswell said. “He was a great coach. He did a lot for this program, and all the players really respected him. It’s going to be tough to see him go, but I’m sure the whole team is looking forward to seeing who the new coach is and the opportunities that arise.”

UC senior center Deyshawn Bond, who was a four-year starter, said the players learned much under Tuberville.

“Great opportunity for us to get coached by a great guy,” Bond said. “He really taught his players a lot about on-field and off-field things, and how to make things right in bad situations. Just a great guy, and I wish the best for him.”

COACH REACTION: Robert Prunty, UC associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator, said that Bearcats assistants are unsure what happens next. Prunty came with Tuberville from Texas Tech, where Prunty was defensive ends coach from 2010-12.

“He was an icon in coaching,” Prunty said. “It’s pretty simple, coach Tuberville is a Hall of Fame coach. When I think of him, I think of him helping a lot of people. You know how he felt about military families and what his foundation did for them. He was a giver. He was always willing to help, and he really had a love for his players.”

What now for the assistant coaches?

“Right now it’s all in the hands of the athletic director,” Prunty said. “This is tough. As coaches, we understand what type of business we’re in and this is a part of the business. As far as me, my faith will always be in God.”

CONTRACT DETAILS: Tuberville signed a contract extension in October that took his UC contract through 2019. He was making $2.2 millon per season.

Under terms of the original five-year agreement with Tuberville, UC would have owed the coach a $1 million buyout if the university were to let him go this season or before Jan. 31, 2017. The buyout would have dropped to $550,000 before the start of the 2017 season.

But in the new deal, UC was to have paid Tuberville $2.4 million if it let him go before Dec. 7. The buyout payment would have been $1.5 million if he was fired before Dec. 7, 2017; $1 million before Dec. 7, 2018; and $1 million before Dec. 7, 2019.

Beginning July 1, Tuberville's guaranteed annual salary was amended to $1.6 million through Dec. 31, 2019.

Bohn said that financial terms of Tuberville’s resignation are being worked out.

Doc from Saturday: Keeping Tuberville an expensive gamble

ADMINISTRATION SPEAKS: In Sunday’s UC press release, Bohn made this statement about Tuberville:

“He is a Hall of Fame coach. We thank him and his staff for their hard work and dedication to Cincinnati. Change is never an easy thing on our student-athletes, but their success and well-being is our primary focus. We will move onward and search for a head coach who can continue the growth of the football program in line with our goals of being class of the league.”

UC interim president Dr. Beverly J. Davenport also issued a statement:

"We appreciate all he has done for the University of Cincinnati football program and wish him and his family the very best. I have total confidence in Director of Athletics Mike Bohn to find our next football coach, and I will be working with him every step of the way as we move forward in the process.”

TOUGH YEAR: UC this season struggled especially on the offensive side, under first-year coordinator Zac Taylor. The Bearcats started three different quarterbacks in Hayden Moore, Ross Trail and Gunner Kiel, and never found any consistency offensively, dropping from the Top-5 in the NCAA FBS a year ago to No. 101 in total offense this season.

The defense did show improvement this year, including being among the national leaders in forced turnovers.

The UC press release also noted that Tuberville’s teams were strong in the classroom, continually setting high GPA marks, including contributions to a department GPA over 3.0 in the spring of 2016. Graduation rates rose during his tenure, and both the Bearcats APR and GSR for the football team are well above the national average.

POPULAR HIRE: When Tuberville was hired by UC, the move was widely acclaimed. Tuberville was a national name, having won three national title rings as an assistant coach with the Miami Hurricanes and taking Auburn to a final No. 2 national ranking in 2004.

“Coach Tuberville’s record speaks for itself over the past 17 seasons,” then-UC athletic director Whit Babcock said when Tuberville was hired. “It also speaks volumes to the visibility and leadership of our university that we were able to attract such an accomplished coach to lead our program.”

Tuberville and Babcock worked together at Auburn from 1999-2002.

Babcock left UC to become Virginia Tech athletic director in January 2014. Two weeks later, Bohn was hired as UC athletic director.