Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ 2024 Vice President, described himself during a fundraising event Thursday afternoon as the “anti-Tommy Tuberville,” saying he wanted to show “that football coaches aren’t the dumbest people.”
The incident prompted a direct comparison between Walz’s coaching record and that of Tuberville, the Republican senator from Alabama. In a post on X, formerly of Twitter, Cody Sargent, Tuberville’s former press secretary, said: “Senator Tuberville is a 5x national Coach of the Year and a 7x conference champion. So, no, Tim Walz, you are not Coach Tuberville.”
Walz has supported his identity as a former football coach throughout his political career and in 2012 worked with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries in the sport. When Harris announced the Minnesota governor as his running mate earlier this month, he introduced himself as “Coach Walz.”
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After graduating from college, Walz was employed as a world geography teacher at Mankato West High School, where he also worked as a coach for the Mankato West Scarlets.
according to Washington Postwhen Walz arrived, the Mankato West football team was struggling, and in his first season, they failed to score until the final game. Walz began his career as a linebackers coach but was later promoted to defensive coordinator.
Mankato West improved greatly and then in 1999 won the first of four state championships. Former player Mitch Salsberg told the Post that when they came to practice before the 1999 season, the players found Walz had attached a small nail to the locker.
He said: “The idea is that you’re building something. Be the nail. You’re a piece of the puzzle. You’re part of everything. You’re not bigger, you’re not better than the rest.”
Referring to Walz’s motivating influence, Salsberg added: “I just remember his usually bald head and red face yelling. But you want to open the wall when he’s done.”
Tuberville joined the University of Miami as a graduate assistant in 1986 and in 1993 became the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator. He went on to win three AP national championships during his time with the team, and according to his profile on the US Senate’s official website, Tuberville coached future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis along with wrestling and Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In 1994, Tuberville moved to College Station, Texas, where he assisted Texas A&M University football coach RC Slocum as defensive coordinator. The following year he was the head coach at the University of Mississippi and was named the SEC AP coach of the year in 1997.
After the 1998 season, Tuberville joined the Auburn Tigers as head coach, winning five SEC Western Division titles and one SEC championship. In 2004, he was again named the AP SEC coach of the year, as well as the AFCA coach of the year, after leading a 13-0 season. Tuberville has a 159-99 record over 21 years.
Tuberville coached at Texas Tech University from 2010-12 and at the University of Cincinnati, where he won an American Athletic Conference championship, from 2013-16. According to the Senate page, Tuberville was “one of the 50 winningest football coaches of all time” when he retired after the 2016 season.
When reached for comment, Tuberville’s office declined Newsweek to the post of X from the Senator where he said: “Speaking of shame for the Coaching profession… Tim Walz DESERTED military units when he found out they were deploying to Iraq. Walz has ABANDONED the police precincts while their cities are burning. in 2020. And Walz has installed a tampon dispenser in the BOYS bathroom.
Newsweek Contact Walz for comment there via email.
Tuberville rose to national prominence in 2023 when he used his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to block hundreds of military promotions for months in protest of the Pentagon’s policy on abortion access for service personnel.
