Tom Groeschen

tgroeschen@enquirer.com

The heat may be on Tommy Tuberville, but the University of Cincinnati football coach appeared anything but worried Tuesday.

An upbeat Tuberville, speaking at his weekly media luncheon at UC, said he has not been told anything about next season. The slumping Bearcats (4-7, 1-6 American Athletic Conference East) finish their season at Tulsa (8-3, 5-2 AAC West) on Friday, amid speculation that Tuberville’s job is in jeopardy.

“Everybody’s asking, ‘Are you worried about your job?’ I never worry about my job,” Tuberville said. “I don’t control that. What I control is our players. I worry about our players more than I worry about anything else."

UC has lost four straight games and is a 22 ½-point underdog to Tulsa. A loss would match the Bearcats’ worst record since 2010, when UC went 4-8 under first-year coach Butch Jones. Jones’ next two teams won 10 games each, and Jones left for Tennessee.

Tuberville replaced Jones. The Bearcats have gone 9-4, 9-4, 7-6 and now 4-7 under Tuberville.

The 62-year-old Tuberville said he will have his usual postseason meeting with UC athletic director Mike Bohn.

“Mike has been supportive,” Tuberville said. “He knows. He understands the situation we’re in. Of course, if you’re looking from the outside in, you say, ‘Man, are they in god-awful shape.’ Most people don’t understand what we’re trying to do. (Bohn) understands that.

“He understands what we’ve done with the academics, the strength room, their dorms, the COA (Cost of Attendance) money, going through all this Big 12 stuff. We haven’t had a lot of positives, obviously, but there are gonna be a lot of positives to come.”

UC falls to 4-7 with 34-7 loss to Memphis

Tuberville said everything will be on the table when he meets with Bohn. That is no different than any other year, Tuberville said.

“I talk with all my coaches, we go over what they’ve done, what they can do better,” Tuberville said. “Do I need to make a change? Mike does the same thing on my level. Look at our body of work.”

The Enquirer has reached out to Bohn to discuss Tuberville’s status, but Bohn has not replied.

“The football program at the University of Cincinnati is better than it’s ever been, and it’s gonna get better,” Tuberville said. “We’re at the bottom right now of winning, but you’re looking from the outside in. We’re looking at recruiting, the type of players that we’ve recruited for three years and convinced to come to Cincinnati for three years. Recruiting is a process of three or four years, and getting these kids bought into your program.”

More from Tuberville:

“I want to stay here. I’m one of the few who came here not looking to leave.”

“Right now, 70 of our 110 players are freshmen and sophomores. It’s gonna get better.”

“It’s hard going into the last game of the year, knowing you don’t have a chance to go to a bowl game.”

“Patience is a virtue. You’ve got to have a little bit of that when it comes to building a football program. You have not had one here. You’ve won games, you’ve had good teams. I came here to stay. I didn’t come here to the go to the pros or get another job.”

“I know how to build teams. I’ve won a lot of games. We’re gonna continue to win games.”

Said he wants to be an athletic director when he gets of coaching: “I think I’d be a good one.”

UC: 5 takeaways from 34-7 loss to Memphis

Per usual, Tuberville also found some humor amid the rough season.

“If you don’t think it doesn’t hurt us, come to my house,” he said. “My wife (Suzanne) hasn’t talked to me, either. She’d like to win too.”

QB WATCH: Sophomore Hayden Moore will start again at quarterback Friday, Tuberville said. It will be Moore’s third straight start and seventh overall this year.

LAST ONE: The 17 UC seniors will be playing their final collegiate game.

Defensive tackle Alex Pace said the Bearcats recently had a visit from former UC defensive back Reuben Johnson, who lettered in 2009 and 2010.

Buyouts higher for UC in new Tuberville deal

“Reuben Johnson came in and said, yeah, the year we went 4-8 (in 2010), after that we won a championship (2011 Big East),” Pace said. “Having those guys speak to the younger guys, it lets them know they can learn from their mistakes.”

Center Deyshawn Bond, a four-year starter, said the team has not lost its focus.

“Sometimes when you’re losing, things can go negatively and teams can fall apart,” Bond said. “We’ve really grown together during this time. If we can get past this last game in a great, positive manner, this program will go on and be great.”

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Cincinnati vs. Tulsa

Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. Friday at H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000), Tulsa, Okla.

TV/Radio: ESPN2/700 WLW-AM

Records: UC 4-7 (1-6 AAC East), Tulsa 8-3 (5-2 AAC West)