ESPN: Tommy Tuberville To Texas Tech

After a coaching search that began after the controversial fire of head coach Mike Leach last month, Texas Tech finally has a new head Red Raider.

No, not interim head coach Ruffin McNeill, who many thought would assume full-time head coaching duties after his thrilling victory over Michigan State in December's Alamo Bowl.

Instead, it's Tommy Tuberville.

A source close to ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel told Maisel Saturday that the 55-year-old coach had reached a deal with the university and an official announcement would be made in a press conference on Sunday from Lubbock.

Tuberville previously served as head coach at Auburn University from 1999-2008, beating in-state rival Alabama a record six consecutive times and leading an undefeated team to an SEC championship and a Sugar Bowl victory over Virginia Tech in 2004.

Since stepping down at Auburn at the end of the 2008 season, he has worked as an ESPN analyst, covering mostly SEC college football news.

While pleading his case on "Tech Talk" earlier this week, Tuberville responded quickly, saying that Tech is a great school and he's interested in winning championships.

He also went on to say that he feels he can keep the Lubbock school's current recruiting class intact and that he could bring in even more talented players because of his national name recognition.

"Name recognition goes a long way in this business, especially in recruiting," said Tuberville. "And there's probably not too many high school kids that haven't heard my name."