Thomas Hawley Tuberville ( ; born September 18, 1954) is an American politician and retired college football coach serving as 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 from 1995 to 1998, Texas Tech University from 2010 to 2012, and the University of Cincinnati from 2013 to 2016. Tuberville won five national Coach of the Year Awards (AP, AFCA, Sporting News, Walter Camp, and Bear Bryant) following Auburn's 13–0 season in 2004, in which Auburn won the Southeastern Conference title and the Sugar Bowl, but was left out of the BCS National Championship Game. 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. In 2015, he was the president of the American Football Coaches Association. 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 and defeated 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. Early life and education Tuberville was born and raised in Camden, Arkansas, one of three children of Olive Nell (née Chambliss) and Charles R. Tuberville Jr. He graduated from Harmony Grove High School in Camden in 1972. He attended Southern Arkansas University, where he lettered in football as a safety for the Muleriders and played two years on the golf team. He received a B.S. in physical education from SAU in 1976. In 2008, he was inducted into the Southern Arkansas University Sports Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Coaching career Early career Tuberville first coached at Hermitage High School in Hermitage, Arkansas. He was an assistant coach at Arkansas State University. He then went through the ranks at the University of Miami, beginning as graduate assistant and ending as defensive coordinator in 1993, winning the national championship three times during his tenure there