LIVE -- Tuberville press conference, 11/30

Head coach Tommy Tuberville is meeting with reporters via teleconference today. We're providing a blow-by-blow account.

• "The sun did come up; it didn't come up until about noon."
  
  
• "I thought we had a good game plan."
  
  
• "The bright spot of our day was our punter."
  
  
• "Offensively, we didn't do anything to give our defense any hope at all. We had no drives. We had no big plays."
  
  
• "You could tell that (Alabama) wanted to end that streak and they did."
  
  
• "I plan on being here. It's an opportunity the coaches look to know that we can get the job done. We've done it eight out of 10 years in terms of getting the job done."
  
  
• On is Kevin Scarbinsky's column alleging that Tuberville already gaining official affirmation from Jay Gogue is true: "I have no clue where that came from. No."
  
  
• On Lee Ziemba needing off-season surgery: "He's a tough young man who wanted to go through the season. Overall, considering the knee, I thought he had an outstanding sophomore season."
  
  
• On Paul Rhoads and Utah State: "We've talked to some people from out there. There's been just a little bit of talk about that; not much. That'll be up to him. He really likes it here."
  
  
• On their recruiting: "On guys who had shown any sense of (wondering) if I'll be here or not, I want to meet with them first. It'll be this week."
  
  
• On OC changes: "I want to give him the freedom to bring someone in. We've got to have an offensive coordinator who feels comfortable with what he wants to do. I've not been around too many coordinators that had people that they wanted to bring, but obviously, we've got to do something on offense and we're going to. We're going to get the problem solved. We're going to get some consistency."
  
  
• More on the OC situation: "You've got to make sure coaches can work with other coaches. There's more than hiring a guy and turning them loose. There has to be a sense of philosophy among all of them. We haven't had a consistent offense in a long time. This time, we're going to get someone who understands this program."
  
  
• "They've got to be experienced; I don't want to train someone. We're past that point. A lot of people have said in the past that I've forced assistants on people. That's not the case."
  
  
• "I don't have any front-runners. I don't have any leaders. It's not going to happen overnight. This thing probably won't happen until after the first of the year."
  
  
• FINAL EXCHANGE
  
  • Q: So you say that your No. 1 priority is to talk with the recruits who are worried about your future here?
    
  • A: "That's correct."
    
    
  • Q: Is this going to happen before or after you talk with Gogue/Jacobs?
    
  • A: "It depends on when we talk. Recruiting starts this week and that's what we're doing now."
    
    
  • Q: How can you give recruits an affirmation when you don't have one yourself?
    
  • A: "I'm going like I've got a contract here. I'm working and as I said last night there's no doubt that we can get this thing turned back around. I didn't turn into a bad coach overnight. I know this program better than anybody. I know what it takes. I know the type of people that you can get to come in. I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses and I'm fully committed to doing it. I'm going out and selling that."