Coach of the Year - A Season for the Ages

He knew it was over. Tommy Tuberville and his whole staff would soon be shown the door, despite four consecutive winning seasons, four bowl games and share of thee division titles in five seasons at Auburn University. One more game, against archrival Alabama, and they would all be out looking for new jobs. “I had already put in my application to be a greeter at Wal-Mart,” he would later joke. Laughter helped. Gallows humor under tough situations usually eases the pain. So does resilience, faith and the reinforcement of assistant coaches and players who refused to back down in the face of adversity. “We all got together as a coaching staff and said, ‘If the kids are going to learn anything from this, let’s teach them how to handle adversity,’” Tuberville says. “Of course, it doesn’t get any worse than that for a coach, people trying to run you off.” Just two days