Tuberville makes a bold move in search for championships
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville took a radical turn from his past when he hired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin away from Troy last December. For all of his 14 seasons as a head coach, Tuberville has believed in offenses built to chew up yards on the ground and chew up the clock in the process.
When he decided it was time for a change, it was all about trying to break through. The Tigers have won 50 games in the past five seasons. They have won or shared the Southeastern Conference West Division championship five times in Tuberville’s nine seasons. But their only league championship came in the perfect season of 2004, and Tuberville wants more.
That, he says, is why he turned to Franklin.
“It’s hard in this league to consistently pound and pound the ball,” Tuberville said. “People were ganging up on us, putting eight, nine, 10 people in the box. if we wanted to consistently say, ‘Okay, we’re going to stay with winning eight, nine games, sometimes maybe win 10, I think we could have stayed with the two-back offense.
“I also looked at recruiting. I’ve looked at the change in football. I looked at quarterbacks, what is available. I think that this offense gives you an opportunity for a lot of variables to improve on. “
auburnundercover.com
7/27/08
