U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach who was elected during his first political race five years ago, on Thursday downplayed reports he will run for governor.

Tuberville, a close ally of President Donald Trump, for months has been the focus of speculation about the 2026 race.

Yellowhammer News reported Tuberville “told a group of donors at a private event on Wednesday night that his mind is officially made up” and that he would run for governor rather than a second term in the U.S. Senate.

Tuberville, however, said he and his wife are still weighing their options.

“While I appreciate all the interest, Suzanne and I are still praying about how to best serve the people of Alabama. When I have an official announcement about my future, you’ll hear it directly from me,” Tuberville posted on social media.

Tuberville, 70, would be a formidable candidate if he runs to replace Gov. Kay Ivey, who cannot seek a third term.

“I’ve had numerous conversations with Senator Tuberville. I think his heart is to come back to Alabama and run for governor. So, it would not surprise me at all if that was his final decision,” John Wahl, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party told AL.com on Thursday.

Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate abandoned his plans to run for governor amid speculation Tuberville will enter the race and is mulling a run for lieutenant governor.

Pate said he and his wife spoke to Tuberville on Saturday.

“He needs to make his own announcement, but I was convinced enough I have been telling people I was running for lieutenant governor over the last two to three days,” Pate told AL.com.

“I told (Secretary of State) Wes Allen. I’m confident. I was talking to my wife and she was part of the conversation with Tuberville and she is encouraging me to get a job or run for something and not to be at the house under her foot all day,” Pate said.

The head football coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008, Tuberville compiled a 159-99 record in 21 seasons as a head coach, including 14 in the SEC.

He guided the Tigers to an 85-40 record over 10 seasons. Auburn went 13-0 under Tuberville in 2004, including a 38-28 victory over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.

Tuberville entered politics when he led a seven-candidate field in the 2020 Republican Senate primary.

After picking up an endorsement from Trump, Tuberville decisively defeated Jeff Sessions in the GOP runoff, receiving 61% of the vote.

Sessions was trying to regain the seat he held for 20 years before leaving it to accept Trump’s appointment as attorney general.

Tuberville then easily defeated Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in the November 2020 general election.

Tuberville’s name recognition from a decade at Auburn, and his alliance with Trump, would make him hard to beat in the gubernatorial race or any statewide election, experts say.

Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, who is considering a run for governor next year, has said that Tuberville’s decision on whether to enter the race would not affect his plans.

“Sen. Tuberville, he’s done a good job,” Ainsworth has said. “But that doesn’t have any impact on my decision.”

Questions about Tuberville’s residency and whether it would affect the governor’s race in 2026, were raised during a March radio interview by state Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville.

“Owning a house in Alabama is not enough,” Givhan said. “You’ve got to live here seven years. You don’t have to live here a day to run for U.S. Senate. So that’s going to be a hurdle.”

“There’s no problem with that. We looked at that six, seven years ago. It’s just people that are probably, maybe, wanting to run for governor. Hey, if you want to run, go run on your abilities. Don’t try to trick somebody else. There’s nothing to that,” Tuberville said in response.

The subject of Tuberville’s residency came up during the 2020 Senate race when Sessions raised the issue of Tuberville’s residential property in the Florida panhandle.

AL.com reported at that time that Tuberville and his wife were both registered voters in Alabama, according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office.

They also had owned a house in Auburn since March 31, 2017, according to Lee County property records reviewed by AL.com.

Although he is a fierce advocate for Trump, Tuberville has gone against his own party at times and found himself in the center of national controversies.

He stalled military promotions for 10 months in 2023 over a Pentagon policy covering travel costs for service members and their dependents who must cross state lines to receive abortions.

In 2022, while speaking at a Trump rally in Nevada, he said Democrats “want reparation because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”

Tuberville later said via a spokesperson he meant that “the issue is crime, not race, but the liberal media is intent on helping Democrats remain in power.”

Tuberville and his wife Suzanne have two adult sons, Tucker and Troy.

Earlier this year, he told Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his confirmation hearing that they were expecting a granddaughter and said, “she’s not going to be a pincushion” for vaccinations.