Tuberville out as Cincinnati coach
T o m m y T u b e r v i l l e re s i g n e d a s Ci n c i n n a t i ’s coach on Sunday after his first losing season in four years with the Bearcats.
Ci nc i nnati e nded wit h five straight losses and a 4-8 record, missing out on a bowl for the first time in Tuberville’s tenure. Before the season, the Bearcats gave Tuberville a two-year extension through 2019.
“I am not done coaching, and I look forward to my next challenge,” he said in a statement.
It would have cost the school $2.4 million to fire Tuberville. The coaching change comes at the end of a season that was disappointing in many ways, including the Big 12’s decision not to expand. The Bearcats hope to move out of the American Athletic Conference.
T u b e r v i l l e , 6 2 , l e f t Texas Tech in December 2 012 to t ake over at Cincinnati, which reached its high mark under previous c oache s Br i a n Kel ly a nd Butch Jones. Tuberville led Cincinnati to 9-4 finishes in each of his first two seasons, sharing the AAC championship with a 7-1 mark in 2014.
The Bearcats slipped to 7-6 the following year and then fell apart on offense this year.
Notre Dame AD backs Kelly: Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick dismissed speculation that coach Brian Kelly won’t be back next season for Notre Dame. Speaking publicly for the first time since the Irish finished 4-8, their second-worst record in five decades, Swarbrick s a i d t h a t i n e v a l u a t i n g Kelly, he doesn’t look at this season in isolation. He noted the Irish finished 10-3 last season despite numerous injuries, describing that as one of the best coaching jobs he has seen. Swarbrick said he hadn’t commented earlier because he told ESPN in October he expected Kelly to be back next season and he didn’t feel like he needed to say anything further.
Briles not on Houston’s coaching list: Houston Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek says former Houston and Baylor head coach Art Briles is not a candidate to be the Cougars’ next coach.
The school released a statement Saturday after an ESPN report, citing unidentified sources, stated Briles would interview for the vacancy created by the departure of Tom Herman.
Yurachek said earlier this week Briles “expressed interest to me regarding the Houston head coach position. After discussion with University of Houston leadership, we developed a list of candidates to be interviewed that did not include Art.”
Briles played at Houston and coached the Cougars from 2003-07 before taking over at Baylor. He was fired this year after an investigation found that school leaders, including Briles, did not appropriately respond to allegations of sexual assault, some against members of the football team.