The waiting game

AUBURN, Ala. — One of the more interesting developments in all of this Tommy Tuberville-to-Texas A&M talk may be the populist outpouring it has spawned.
There’s actually a Web site — keeptommytuberville.com — and an Internet petition requesting Auburn officials grant Tuberville a 5-year contract extension.
Tuberville labeled all of the speculation about his future ‘‘good talk.’’
Here’s something worth talking about:
What if Auburn bombs these last two games against Georgia and Alabama?
What if the Tigers finish this season on a downer, with the same 7-5 record that nearly cost Tuberville his job in 2003?
Recent history proves this state can be a volatile place. The pendulum of public opinion can suddenly turn into a slingblade that lops off heads.
That’s not meant to suggest that a disappointing finish to the season would bring that sort of result for Tuberville, whose body of work over the last three full seasons has been outstanding.
But his constant candidacy (real or imagined) for jobs with the Dallas Cowboys, LSU, Arkansas and Miami could wear thin with some Auburn fans. If he milks the attention too much, especially in the wake of a down season, he runs the risk of alienating president Jay Gogue, athletic director Jay Jacobs and his most ardent supporters.
As good as the Tigers have been under Tuberville of late, and as chilly as it might feel in the shadow of Nick Saban, Auburn would have a hard time justifying a salary of more than $3 million per year for its head coach. Given the current price of crude oil, the presence of so many petroleum industry employees in and around College Station, Texas, and Texas A&M’s 2-12 record against Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M under Dennis Franchione, the Aggies probably wouldn’t hesitate to open the checkbook.
Lengthening Tuberville’s contract, bumping his pay to $3 million immediately and making his assistant coaches the highest-paid in the SEC (a status currently enjoyed by Alabama assistants) could allow Auburn to silence the Texas A&M talk.
Tuberville has to be rankled by the fact that Saban received a $4 million-per-year contract and sudden savior status despite being in the state less than five minutes and not yet having the opportunity to prove himself in an Iron Bowl.
Tuberville will make $2.8 million next season, then graduate to $3 million in 2009 unless his contract gets re-structured. For a coach who has won just one Southeastern Conference title in nine seasons, that’s a lot of money.
Granted, he inherited a dismal situation when he arrived after the 1998 season. But, Jetgate notwithstanding, his fanbase could reasonably expect more bang for the bucks.