Tommy Tuberville supposedly resigned last week as Auburn’s football coach after a disappointing season. But could there be more to the story?

Momma Tuberville told the Opelika-Auburns News that her son was actually fired.
 

Rivals.com reports:

“He didn’t resign,” the paper quoted her as saying. “He was fired.”

Reached for comment Monday by The Associated Press, Olive Tuberville wouldn’t say whether the newspaper quoted her correctly. She did confirm talking with a reporter at Tuberville’s house shortly after the coach’s final meeting with Auburn officials last Wednesday.

“I’m sick of this mess. I’m not going discuss it anymore,” she said.

Athletic director Jay Jacobs last week said Tuberville’s departure was completely Tuberville’s decision, and that he and the university president, Jay Gogue, each asked Tuberville to remain.

Jacobs said he and Gogue agreed to give Tuberville the same amount of money that would have been required to terminate his contract through a firing, $5.1 million, because they felt it was “the right thing to do.”

Auburn spokeswoman Deedie Dowdle said Monday the university stands by Jacobs’ statement that Tuberville resigned.

The Opelika-Auburn News reported that Tuberville’s mother said she felt her son was betrayed by Auburn “to a certain extent” after 85 wins and a Southeastern Conference championship.

The right thing, eh? That should be a big clue… hardly anyone does the right thing in sports just for the sake of doing the right thing.