Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville could end up with a pair of new titles in 2026 – governor of Alabama and College Football Hall of Famer.

Currently a U.S. senator representing Alabama, Tuberville is running for governor of the state and seems to be the morning-line favorite to earn election on Nov. 3, 2026.

Tuberville will know in January whether he’s a member of the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. He’s among the nine coaches on the FBS portion of the ballot.

Tuberville made his first appearance on the ballot for the Class of 2025, but two other coaches from the SEC earned enshrinement – Urban Meyer of Florida and Nick Saban of LSU and Alabama.

Even if Tuberville doesn’t make it this time around, he seems likely to enter the College Football Hall of Fame eventually – not so much because of his record, but because of the company that record allows him to keep. That group has an 84.6 percent enshrinement rate with Tuberville up to bat.

To be considered for the Class of 2026 ballot, a candidate had to have at least 10 seasons and 100 games as a head coach with a career winning percentage of .600 or better.

Tuberville had a 159-99 career record for a .616 winning percentage across 21 seasons.

Thirty-three men who coached in the SEC already are in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Ten of those coaches are enshrined because of their work elsewhere. For example, Darrell Royal coached two seasons at Mississippi State, but those years aren’t why he’s in the College Football Hall of Fame or the stadium at Texas is named for him.

The other former SEC coach on the Class of 2026 ballot is aligned with those 10 coaches. Dennis Franchione’s time at Alabama accounts for only two of his 30 seasons.

Tuberville coached at two SEC programs – Ole Miss and Auburn – and without the 10 years guiding the Tigers, he wouldn’t be a Hall of Fame candidate.

Of the SEC coaches who have met the minimum standards for College Football Hall of Fame, only four whose work in the conference is essential to their candidacy and are eligible for consideration are not enshrined.

Georgia Tech’s Bill Alexander was enshrined before the current standards were adopted, so 22 of the 26 eligible SEC coaches who have met the 10-year/100-game/.600-percentage minimum are in the College Football Hall of Fame already.

Tuberville, Henry Frnka of Tulane, Harry Mehre of Georgia and Ole Miss and Charley Pell of Florida are the outsiders.

Other SEC coaches also have met the standard for the College Football Hall of Fame, but they aren’t eligible yet. The rules require that coaches be retired for three years, and Lane Kiffin, Dan Mullen and Gus Malzahn are still coaching. Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino haven’t been out of the game long enough.

Current Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer also has the credentials, too, although he has only one season of SEC football on his resume.

Tuberville had a 110-60 overall record (.647 winning percentage) during his 14 SEC seasons. He had a 62-50 mark (.554) in conference games. Tuberville’s SEC teams won one conference championship (by Auburn in 2004) and finished ranked in the final Associated Press poll seven times (with a high of second by the 2004 Tigers).

How does Tuberville stack up against the 23 SEC coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame?

He ranks 12th in career wins, 21st in overall winning percentage, 13th in overall SEC wins, 19th in overall SEC winning percentage, 13th in SEC conference wins and 20th in SEC conference winning percentage.

Sixteen of the coaches won two or more SEC championships, and 12 had their teams in the final AP poll in more than half of their seasons. Nine coached national-championship teams.

Tuberville’s competition on the Class of 2026 ballot includes:

• Jim Carlen (West Virginia 1966-69, Texas Tech 1970-74, South Carolina 1975-81): 107-69-6, .604
• Pete Cawthon (Austin 1923-27, Texas Tech 1930-40): 99-50-10, .654
• Larry Coker (Miami, Fla. 2001-06, UTSA 2011-15): 86-47, .647
• Dennis Franchione (Southwestern 1981-82, Pittsburg State 1985-89, Southwest Texas State 1990-91, New Mexico 1992-97, TCU 1998-2000, Alabama 2001-02, Texas A&M 2003-07, Texas State 2011-15): 213-135-2, .611
• Ralph Friedgen (Maryland 2001-10): 75-50, .600
• Gary Patterson (TCU 2000-21): 181-79, .696
• Chris Petersen (Boise State 2006-13, Washington 2014-19): 147-38, .795
• Darryl Rogers (Cal State Hayward 1965, Fresno State 1966-72, San Jose State 1973-75, Michigan State 1976-79, Arizona State 1980-84): 129-84-7, .602

The National Football Foundation has changed the standard for coaches by lowering the minimum career winning percentage from .600 to .595 beginning with the Class of 2027. That will put three other former SEC coaches in play for consideration – Mike Leach, Les Miles and Jackie Sherrill, although Leach’s time in the SEC probably didn’t contribute to his Hall of Fame chances (especially since his three seasons at Mississippi State knocked him below the .600 standard).

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.