In a profession where surviving and advancing is challenging under the best of circumstances, Bruce Pearl has lived many lives, and survived some near-deaths.
The first crisis landed in 1989, when Pearl was a 28-year-old assistant coach at Iowa. After one of Iowa’s top recruits, Deon Thomas, committed to Illinois, Pearl secretly recorded a telephone conversation in which Thomas appeared to admit that an Illinois assistant provided him with cash and a car in return for his commitment. Pearl turned the tape over to the NCAA, and while the NCAA could not confirm the transactions (Thomas told investigators that he was not being truthful with Pearl), the NCAA uncovered other violations that resulted in Illinois being hit with a one-year postseason ban.
Regardless of his intentions, Pearl was cast as a pariah for violating the rules of cosa nostra. It looked like he had torpedoed his career before it really got started.
Nothing succeeds like success, and Pearl proved time and again that he had the chops to make it in this rough-and-tumble business. He took over at Division II Southern Indiana in 1992. The team had won just 10 games the season before, but during Pearl’s nine years there, he led the Screaming Eagles to four conference titles, a spot in the 1994 Division II national championship game, and the 1995 national championship. In 2001, Pearl got another chance in Division I, this time as the head coach at Milwaukee. He led the Panthers to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and the 2005 Sweet Sixteen, which vaulted him to the head job at Tennessee.
Pearl coached the Vols to the NCAA Tournament for six straight years. They reached the Sweet Sixteen three times and made the Elite Eight in 2010. In 2011, however, the NCAA cited Pearl for unethical conduct and assessed him with a three-year show cause penalty. The penalty stemmed from the improper attendance of a recruit at a barbecue that Pearl hosted at his house. The transgression was minor, but the NCAA fuled that had provided “false and misleading information” during his interview. The hammer came down, and Tennessee sent Pearl packing.
Most coaches would have had a hard time bouncing back from that kind of setback, but once again, Pearl survived and advanced. He landed three years later at Auburn, which hadn’t been to the NCAA Tourament in 11 years and had only been past the Sweet Sixteen once in its history. Pearl led the Tigers to a pair of Final Fours and three SEC regular season championships. It was one of the best rebuilding jobs in the history of the sport.
Given all that he has accomplished, and all the ups and downs he has navigated, nothing Pearl does should surprise anyone. His announcement on Monday that he was retiring at the age of 65 was unexpected, but very much on-brand. The 14-minute announcement video the school posted was likewise vintage Pearl. He was eloquent. He was authentic. And yes, he shed some tears. Pearl cries as easily as he draws up out-of-bounds plays. There was no way he was going to get through that video with dry eyes.
So why retire? And why now? Sure, it’s not as fun being a college basketball coach as it used to be, but Pearl seemed to be enjoying the job, and as last year’s Final Four appearance proved, he was still damn good at it. Pearl said in his video that it was simply time for a change, and that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Auburn put out a statement indicating that he will take on a position as special assistant to the athletic director and be an “ambassador” (read: fundraiser) for the school.
Given that Pearl’s announcement is coming so close to the season, there was some chatter that he was doing it so his son Steven, who has been on Pearl’s staff since he came to Auburn and was promoted to Associate Head Coach two years ago, would get a shot at the job. But Steven was going to Pearl’s successor no matter when he stepped down. The school confirmed as much on Monday when it revealed that Steven has already signed a five-year contract.
Pearl has done extensive broadcasting work as well. After he left Tennessee, he spent one year as a host on Sirius XM and two years as a studio and game analyst on ESPN. He has also worked in the Turner studios in Atlanta during March Madness during the 2017 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments, as well as during NBA TV’s draft coverage. He is very good on TV. If he wants to pursue that option, he will find no shortage of suitors.
The most titillating possibility is that Pearl will run for the U.S. Senate seat that is being vacated by Tommy Tuberville’s decision to run for governor of Alabama. Tuberville, of course, is a former football coach at Auburn who won the seat in 2020. Pearl has become increasingly vocal in recent years about his political views, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in Israel. His personal Twitter feed is mostly about politics these days, with a few basketball posts sprinkled in.
Three days after Tuberville announced his candidacy for governor, Jewish Insider reported that Pearl was considering a run to be his replacement. More stories have trickled out since then, and Pearl has not done much to quell the speculation. He has privately told friends and colleagues he liked the idea of becoming the first Jewish Republican in the U.S. Senate. Earlier this month, Pearl spoke to reporters at a charity event and was asked yet again about the possibility. His answer was typically cagey. “I have not answered the question because I’ve never announced I was running for Senate, have I?” Pearl said. “It’s certainly something that I had considered. It’s something I thought a great deal about, but obviously I’m here today and I’m in practice and I’ve got practice tomorrow.”
Newsflash: He does not have practice tomorrow.
Pearl addressed this topic once again on Monday in his retirement video. Many people reported that he ruled out running for office. But did he? Here’s what he actually said:
Many of you know that I thought and prayed about maybe running for United States Senate, maybe to be the next great senator from the state of Alabama. That would have required leaving Auburn, and instead, the university has given me an opportunity to stay here and be Auburn’s senator.
You’ll note that he did not definitively say he wasn’t running. Was the omission intentional? Maybe, maybe not. Even if he did say that, he could still change his mind. He certainly wouldn’t be the first.
Regardless of what the future holds, it is certain that we have not heard the last from Bruce Pearl. He loves people, he loves to work, and he is passionate about fulfilling a purpose that goes beyond winning basketball games — and he has won a lot of them. Whatever comes next is anyone’s guess, but make no mistake: With Bruce Pearl, something next is always coming.
