The writing appeared to be on the wall as the 2016 season continued to play out, but the end of the Tommy Tuberville era in Cincinnati appears to have been reached.
As reported by Football Scoop this morning, Tuberville has decided to step down as head coach of the program. USA Today has also reported this decision. The resignation comes at the end of a disappointing 4-8 season for the Bearcats, who once again fell well shy of a division championship in the American Athletic Conference. What is unknown at this time is how much of Tuberville’s buyout will be paid, as the date for a drop in his buyout terms was scheduled for later this week, dropping the buyout terms from $2.4 million to $1.5 million.
We also do not know if this is the end of Tuberville as a head coach. Perhaps a change of scenery would benefit Tuberville? Who knows. But the Cincinnati job now coming on the market puts an interesting job on the list of vacancies. Like Houston, the Cincinnati job appears to be one of the more attractive Group of Five jobs given what the university has invested in the program in recent years and has planned going forward. The Cincinnati program should be in a situation to compete annually for an AAC championship, despite what the past two years have shown. Early names floating around as potential names of interest include Western Michigan’s PJ Fleck (and yes, this would be a step up despite leaving Group of Five job for another) and Western Kentucky’s Jeff Brohm. Either would be fine additions for Cincinnati, but where Cincinnati falls in the pecking order with other suitors looking for a head coach is in question. The Cincinnati job may not quite be the Houston job, but is it better than Purdue? Baylor?
Every coach thinks differently about coaching jobs, so well wait to see where Cincinnati goes from here and what names are attracted to the job.