Texas Tech Set to Introduce Tommy Tuberville as New Coach

Texas Tech has a reached a deal with former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville to take over the Red Raiders football program, and he will be introduced as the new head coach Sunday, a source familiar with the situation told FanHouse on Saturday and the school's Web site confirmed later in the day.

The press conference will take place Sunday at 2PM (Central Time).

The hire of Tuberville comes as somewhat of a surprise after athletic director Gerald Myers showed a great deal of interest in Baylor coach Art Briles this week before being rebuffed. Myers said he expected to expand his search, but in the end settled on the first outside coach to publicly express interest in replacing Mike Leach last weekend. What may have made Myers move quicker is the suddenly vacant South Florida job. Tuberville's name had come up as possible candidate for that post after the school fired its first head coach Jim Leavitt on Friday.

According to the source, Tuberville will receive a contract comparable to the five-year, $12.7 million Leach signed last February, but may have voided when he was fired with cause on Dec. 30. Tuberville will make in the neighborhood of $2 million annually.

Leach, the winningest coach in Texas Tech history, was fired after an investigation found that he mistreated wide receiver Adam James, the son of former SMU running back and current ESPN college football analyst Craig James.

In Tuberville, the Red Raiders seem to be getting someone who is the polar opposite of the unconventional Leach. Tuberville, 55, is quite a bit more conservative. But he apparently won over the Texas Tech administrators by agreeing to keep Leach's offense and coaching staff intact, which FanHouse has been reporting was a critical part of the negotiations for any coaching candidate.

It's still uncertain whether or not interim coach/defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will elect to remain on staff. McNeill was also a serious candidate for the job. He and Tuberville both share a background in defense, which could make the relationship awkward.

Tuberville, who is 110-60 in 14 seasons as a head coach, comes in as a proven winner who has Texas ties after serving as defensive coordinator of the Texas A&M Aggies briefly under R.C. Slocum. His lone season as the defensive coordiator of the Aggies' Wrecking Crew defense helped produce a 10-0-1 campaign in 1994.

He spent 10 seasons as Auburn's head coach, guiding the Tigers to a 13-0 season in 2004. But things started to go downhill from there and he was unceremoniously sent packing following a 5-7 campaign in 2008.

Tuberville, who made the Tigers a force in the SEC West, finished with 85-40 record race and Auburn either won or tied for first five times during his tenure. Tuberville is also the only coach in Auburn history to beat in-state rival Alabama six straight times.

Prior to taking over the Tigers, Tuberville spent four seasons at Ole Miss where he guided the Rebels to a 25-20 record in his first head coaching job.