Meeting between CTT and DrER this PM

[DKW 86 7,431]

No word as yet on what was discussed. Hope here something soon. Anyone hear anything please post asap.

[Sports Sheila 0]

Heard about that on Sports Call. Haven't heard the results of the meeting.

Sheila

[moe 0]

anyone hear anything yet?

[StatTiger 3,188]

Richardson stated that the plan was to sit down with CTT after the Bowl game but both sides elected to start talks tonight. Verbally, everyone is on the same page in terms of what CTT is looking for and Richardson hopes to have a new contract in place by early next week.

[autigger 0]

Per Mark Murphy on ITAT Richardson will have a written proposal on CTT'c new contract by the end of the week...

Also per Mark Murphy on ITAT noone has been eliminated as a candidate for the AD job..... saying everytime Richardson had been close to making a decision new information to consider before making a final decision..........

[TitanTiger 20,499]

Well, all of that sounds like good news. Let's keep hoping for a resolution that will make all the parties happy...but especially CTT.

[TigerTaz 109]

Sounds good. DR. ED has sung CTT's praises that's for sure.

[DKW 86 7,431]

Per Mark Murphy on ITAT  Richardson will have a written proposal on CTT'c new contract by the end of the week...

Also per Mark Murphy on ITAT  noone has been eliminated as a candidate for the AD job.....  saying everytime Richardson had been close to making a decision new information to consider before making a final decision..........

133092[/snapback]

No offense Tigger but everything I hear says this was a done deal months ago with Jay and the rest was just a CYA action by ER.

[LegalEagle 22]

You know, I believe that it was Jim Donan that said the other day that CTT would be given the AD job in addition to the head coaching job. Could it be? Is that what they were discussing last night?

[cadillacattack 0]

Also per Mark Murphy on ITAT noone has been eliminated as a candidate for the AD job..... saying everytime Richardson had been close to making a decision new information to consider before making a final decision..........

Hmmmm....sounds interestly enough like a politician. Get some results from the opinion polls before announcing a decision, that way you're fully prepared to "spin" the fallout...

[RVTiger 0]

Today's Montgomery Advertiser has an article about the meeting. It sounds good.

[auburnspice 21]

Link

December 21, 2004

Richardson says Tuberville deal is imminent

By Jay G. Tate

Montgomery Advertiser

AUBURN -- Coach Tommy Tuberville rushed off the practice field Monday afternoon, saying he had somewhere important to be.

That somewhere was Samford Hall.

Tuberville and interim president Ed Richardson met for approximately one hour around 4 o'clock, talking mostly about the head coach's contract and how best to amend it. Auburn is 12-0 and enjoying its best season in history, which is making Tuberville one of college football's hottest commodities.

Richardson said he expects a new, security-laden contract to be offered to Tuberville in short order.

"We reached a substantial agreement," Richardson said. "We're going to make our contract available certainly this week. He'll have it. When he agrees to it, we'll be ready to go. We will have done our work."

That aggressiveness represents an abrupt change of direction for Richardson. After speaking at the football team's rally Friday night, Richardson said he didn't want to make any firm decisions on Tuberville's contract or the contracts of Tuberville's assistants until after the Tigers' Jan. 3 game against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Tuberville accelerated that process on Monday, though, requesting a powwow with the president.

Richardson was persuaded.

"When I looked at it, he needs the security now. Some (schools) are coming after him, perhaps," Richardson said. "Nobody's called. In recruiting, people are asking him. Evidently, he's got all kinds of recruits crawling all over him. They need to know. I wasn't holding it up. I thought that's what he wanted to do."

Richardson declined to discuss how much money the school is prepared to offer. Tuberville's current five-year deal, signed originally in 2002 and rolled over last December, pays him $1.5 million annually.

His buyout is $3.6 million.

Richardson said Tuberville's new deal will put him among the four or five highest-paid coaches in the Southeastern Conference. LSU's Nick Saban leads the way with a $2.3-million deal.

New Florida coach Urban Meyer recently signed a seven-year deal worth $2 million annually. Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee makes approximately $1.8 million per year while Georgia's Mark Richt and Houston Nutt of Arkansas earn approximately $1.5 million.

"(Tuberville) won't be at the top, but he'll be in the top tier -- as he should be," Richardson said.

The new deal will be for "five to seven years," Richardson said, and will include new buyout provisions. The overall goal is to increase Tuberville's job security.

"It's good for Tommy, it's good for the fans, it's good for Auburn itself to provide some stability," Richardson said.

Meanwhile, Auburn's rambling search for a new athletic director continues.

Richardson said Monday that he's still trying to choose between two candidates, which appear to be LSU athletic administrator Dan Radakovich and Tigers Unlimited administrator Jay Jacobs.

"Every time I get up to bat, it looks like the plate's been moved," Richardson said. "I've got to get off the stump."

His opinions on the candidates have run the gamut.

Initially, Richardson said, he favored former Auburn kicker Scott Etheridge for the job. Though he lacks any experience in athletic administration, Etheridge formerly was a financial executive with NBC Sports and now is in a similar role with the network's movie and television production arm, NBC Universal.

Yet when asked about Etheridge's current role in the process, Richardson said Auburn is "going in a different direction."

Those shifts, Richardson said, are attributable to a flow of additional information that continually adds complexity to the situation.

"People come up and say, 'Did you know this.' Or, 'I've heard that.'Or, 'This person says if we don't know by Thursday, he's out,'" Richardson said. "It's just chasing rabbits. Most of it hasn't panned out."

Richardson spent a portion of his Monday meeting with Tuberville discussing the search. Tuberville hasn't publicly divulged his opinion on the matter, though Richardson indicated the coach has revealed his preferences in private.

"I can't have trustees, nor can I have the football coach, telling me how to make the call -- but I'm taking input," Richardson said. "I told (Tuberville): Just sort of tell me what you need. He interviewed each one of the candidates individually himself. I arranged for it."

Richardson said he remains hopeful about naming a new athletic director today. He said the candidates want an answer sooner rather than later, and Richardson acknowledges that Auburn needs to name a new leader as soon as possible.

After all, it's now been 10 months since David Housel announced plans to resign.

"We've just had things sort of falling apart," Richardson said. "That's why I've got to go ahead and make the decision."

[autigger 0]

David if im not to believe anything i read or hear how are you able to belioeve everything you hear??? That door swings both ways... Mine just seemed to come from a named source instead of an unknown...

[cadillacattack 0]

"When I looked at it, he needs the security now. Some (schools) are coming after him, perhaps," Richardson said. "Nobody's called. In recruiting, people are asking him. Evidently, he's got all kinds of recruits crawling all over him. They need to know. I wasn't holding it up. I thought that's what he wanted to do."

Master of the Obvious! ....unbelieveable!

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

David if im not  to believe anything i read or hear how are you able to belioeve everything you hear???  That door swings both ways... Mine just seemed to come from a named source instead of an unknown...

133140[/snapback]

Great question but you better duck