Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach who’s known for his time at Auburn, defeated U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Alabama Republican Senate runoff on Tuesday. This means Tuberville is one step closer to winning the seat against Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones later this year. President Donald Trump endorsed Tuberville back in March and took a shot at Sessions who “recused himself in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign,” according to ESPN.
“I made a mistake when I put him in as the attorney general,” Trump told Tuberville supporters of Sessions on Monday. “He had his chance, and he blew it.” Tuberville also weighed in on Sessions who looked like to be the favorite to win the nomination earlier this year. “Jeff Sessions was a disaster. It’s time to send a message to Jeff Sessions that President Trump does not want him or his cronies in the swamp,” Tuberville tweeted.
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Tuberville made the announcement that he’s running for U.S. Senate in April 2019. On Twitter, Tuberville wrote: “After more than a year of listening to Alabama’s citizens, I have heard your concerns and hopes for a better tomorrow. I am humbled to announce the next step — I will be a GOP candidate for US Senate.” Before joining the world of politics, Tuberville was working as a college football analyst for ESPN.
During his college football coaching career, Tuberville was the head coach at four different schools — Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati to go along with Auburn. After spending years as an assistant coach at the high school and college ranks, Tuberville became head coach of Ole Miss in 1995. He posted a 25-20 record in four seasons before heading to Auburn where he the most success.
In his 10 seasons at Auburn, Tuberville recorded an 85-40 record, winning the SEC Championship in 2004 and appearing in eight blow games with five wins. His best year was in 2004 when the team went 13-0. However, due to the BCS computer rankings, Auburn was left out of the National Championship picture, which led to fans and experts questioning the system. In 2010, Tuberville became the head coach of Texas Tech and led the team to two bowl appearances in three seasons. He then became head coach of Cincinnati in 2013 and won 29 games in four seasons.
