Thomas Tuberville is an American politician and retired college football coach who is the senior United States senator from Alabama, a seat he has held since 2021. Before entering politics, Tuberville was the head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He was also the head football coach at the University of Mississippi, Texas Tech University and the University of Cincinnati.
Tuberville won all five national Coach of the Year Awards following Auburn’s 13–0 season in 2004, in which Auburn won the Southeastern Conference title and the Sugar Bowl. He earned his 100th career win in 2007. Tuberville is the only coach in Auburn football history to beat in-state rival Alabama six consecutive times. He worked for ESPN as a color analyst for its college football coverage during 2017.
In his first political campaign, Tuberville won the Republican nomination for the 2020 Senate election in Alabama defeating Democratic incumbent Doug Jones by over 20 points. Establishing himself as an ally of President Donald Trump, he was among a group of Republican senators who attempted to overturn Democratic president-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Tuberville became Alabama’s senior senator in 2023 when Senator Richard Shelby retired.
Tuberville is a critical voice in today’s conservative movement.