Tommy Tuberville fired because he lost to Vanderbilt

You know why Tommy Tuberville just lost his head coaching job at Auburn?

Because he lost to Vanderbilt.

I'm not kidding. Auburn was 4-1, ranked No. 13 in the nation, and coming off a win over Tennessee.

Then the Tigers lost to Vanderbilt, and look what happened:

• Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.
• Then Auburn lost at home to Arkansas, at that time considered to be the worst team in the SEC.
• Then Auburn got whipped by West Virginia.
• Then Auburn got whipped by Ole Miss.
• Then Auburn dang near lost to Tennessee-Martin.
• Then Auburn had a Commodore-style moral victory over Georgia — which means they lost.
• Then Auburn got blasted by Alabama.

So you can trace the collapse to the loss in Nashville.

And it's not the first time this sort of thing has happened. Consider that:


• Ed Orgeron of Ole Miss couldn't recover from a 31-17 loss to the Commodores last season and was fired and replaced by Houston Nutt.

• Hal Mumme of Kentucky, whose problems extended beyond losing games, couldn't recover from a 24-20 home loss to the Commodores in 2000 and was fired.

• Brad Scott of South Carolina lost 17-14 to the Commodores in 1998, breaking Vanderbilt's 22-game SEC losing streak and getting canned in the process.

• Ray Goff of Georgia lost 43-30 in Athens — on homecoming — in 1994 and was fired soon thereafter.

• Mike Archer of LSU lost 24-21 to the Commodores in 1990 — Vanderbilt's only victory all season — and then lost his job.

• Galen Hall of Florida lost 24-9 to the Commodores in 1988, with Emmitt Smith in the backfield; he survived the end of the season but was fired in 1989, five days before the Vanderbilt game.

• Steve Sloan lost 19-10 to the Commodores in 1982 and was gone by the end of the season.