Coach Tommy Tuberville and Auburn have agreed in principle to a contract extension, but major contract issues must still be resolved, according to a report in The Birmingham News.
Tuberville and athletic director Jay Jacobs met Tuesday, paving the way for the issues to be resolved, a source told The News.
However, according to The Huntsville Times' Web site, Tuberville and Jacobs did not meet Wednesday as expected and, with Tuberville expected to leave town Thursday, it was uncertain when the issues could get resolved.
If the issues are settled, the proposed new contract would run through the 2014 season, The Huntsville Times reported.
Tuberville's name had been mentioned prominently in various
reports over the past several weeks as a possible successor to Dennis Franchione at Texas A&M, but he
indicated last week he planned to remain at Auburn.
He said Monday's meeting with Jacobs would "just be talking
about the season.'' It's standard practice at Auburn for coaches to
meet with the AD and university president Jay Gogue after each
season.
"The president will evaluate our performance and what we did
and how we did it and what he thinks,'' said Tuberville, whose
contract pays him $2.8 million next season and runs through 2011.
"I'll make some recommendations and we'll go from there.''
Signed in 2005,
Tuberville's deal includes a $6 million buyout for prospective
suitors, a clause Jacobs said Saturday night he believed to be "ironclad.''
If the contract is changed, Tuberville said it would probably be
close to a month before it is completed and made public.
"There's a process that you have to go through,'' he said.
Tuberville and the Tigers survived an up-and-down season that
began with a 1-2 start and now appears destined to end in either
the Chik-fil-A Bowl or the Outback Bowl.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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