After reading Jay's article last week that Auburn suffered irreparable damage after firing Franklin, his article this week about whether Tuberville's job is on the line, all about Bowden's firing from Clemson and last but not least all the internet rumors, I have spent a lot of time this week thinking about where Tuberville really stands.  After thinking about it all week I have come to the conclusion that firing Tuberville would cause irreparable damage.

Some mentioned in comments yesterday that he exhausted capital last winter with the talks about TAMU (which I contend Finebaum started) and Arkansas.  I won't even talk about TAMU because again I think Finebaum started those rumors.  I do not buy for one second that he was ever in talks with Arkansas.  And no; I am not being naïve.  Here is why.  Why would he want to go to Arkansas?  Don't give me the excuse because that is his home state.  He has very few ties back to there now.  His mom lives in Auburn, he just built a new house in Auburn and his kids are at the age where moving them would be really hard on them.  Furthermore he is not even a graduate of Arkansas so you can't use the alma mater claim.  And last but not least it wouldn't even be a lateral move, it would be a demotion.  The man was hunting with Gran and Nall (if memory serves) as he does every year.  As soon as the Arkansas media ran the story and he was made aware of it, when he came out of the woods-which for those of you who hunt half the reason you go hunting is to get away from society, he immediately dismissed the story.  He didn't let it linger.  Just because someone is in the state doesn't mean they are interviewing for the job.  You know he and his family went skiing right before Christmas last year in Colorado with some other coaches' families.  Was he interviewing the for Colorado State job?  What if their ski trip this year takes them to Washington or New York, is he interviewing for the UW or Syracuse jobs?  Having given my reason for not believing that he was ever in talks with Arkansas, I do not believe he exhausted any capital, as referred to yesterday, except for with the amateur (by amateur I mean those who are not paid professional bloggers like Barnhart, Low, Marshall, etc) internet bloggers and fans.  His capital is his record and leadership, period the end - not PR for every rumor.

His record speaks volumes across today's CFB.  Tuberville's record at Auburn is currently 84-36 and 109-56 in his career.  And we all know the state the program was in when he took over.  That record could be a lot more impressive because his record since getting a full stable of his recruits in house is 63-21 for 75% in the toughest most elite conference in the nation.  Not to mention his record in big games and against top 10 opponents.  All that success while never fielding an investigation by the NCAA and very few off the field incidents.  Furthermore when he took over at Ole Miss, Ole Miss was on probation, Tubbs was able to win there too!!!  As Jay pointed out, while at Auburn he is 7-2 against Alabama, 5-4 against UGA, 4-4 against LSU, 3-1 against Florida and 6-3 in bowls.  And that doesn't include the other top 10 ranked teams that he has beat.  Firing a coach with those credentials would not result in anything positive.  It would be staunchly criticized, ridiculed and scrutinized by every major entity in college football, from the media, to coaches, to players, to recruits.  If a school is going to fire a coach with that kind of success for having a sub par year in which he has already tried to fix (whether the timing is right or wrong is irreverent), all to allow the boosters to regain control or because he didn't win enough then no one is going to want to associate their career with Auburn for fear that one sub par year is going to result in a major overhaul.  Want proof, as Tony Barnhart stated in his column on Tuesday, look no further than Nebraska and UA.  And with regards to the media, as War Damn Zach pointed out in his article yesterday, we have looked dismal at best throughout the year and lost two games to boot before our loss last week.  Yet were still in the top 25, being the ONLY two loss ranked team.  If that isn't respect from the media I do not know what is!!!  But that respect didn't come overnight.  It came after 10 years of hard work and SUCCESS by Tuberville!!!  It took 10 years to get over the debacle of the Bowden dismissal.  And no one would argue that Tuberville trumps Bowden in success.  I am telling you folks, firing Tuberville would cause irreparable harm as again college football as a whole would staunchly criticize, ridicule and scrutinize such actions.

Last and not least, believe me when I tell you that if he were to be fired he would be hired that same day or the next at the latest.  Don't believe me, just look at Huston Nutt, he left Arkansas and was hired the next day by Ole Miss.  And his record at Arkansas was 75-48; what program wouldn't want Tuberville?  A school is not going to look at what some fans think of his ability to address every rumor that hits the internet or erroneously picked up by the media only to be squandered as soon as he catches wind of it.  One comes immediately to mind, Clemson - and they are on the schedule in 2010 and 2011.  Forget about his 66% winning percentage.  The fact remains and is WELL known throughout college football the state of the programs when he took over and where he took or has taken them.  Clemson and any other school would snatch up Tuberville as fast as they could clear their flight plans with the FAA.

For those who want him gone, I challenge you to name me the replacement who can do better and do better with his own stable of players?  He is one of the top 5 coaches in the country!!!  Like it or not, you are not going to win 10 or more games every year in this conference.  No current SEC coach has nor has any SEC coach done so in their career!!!