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LISTEN: Bruce Pearl comments on Louisville speculation, job status at Auburn

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz01/27/22NickSchultz_7

Rumors are flying about Bruce Pearl potentially leaving Auburn for Louisville in the wake of Chris Mack’s departure. He might have added some fuel to that fire on Thursday.

During an interview with “Keyshawn, J-Will and Max” on ESPN Radio, Pearl addressed the speculation. Jay Williams asked Pearl for his thoughts about being linked to Louisville, which is predominantly a basketball school, when he’s previously coached at schools known for football.

Pearl was quick to clarify that he was at a basketball school at Tennessee — albeit a women’s basketball school. Then, he went on to answer the meat of Williams’ question.

“Listen, when you win, folks are worried you’re going to leave,” Pearl said. “When you’re losing, they’re packing your bags. … Look, Auburn is a fabulous place and it’s been the best place that I’ve ever been where I can develop players. It’s a small college town, kids come here to grind, they’re around other student-athletes that are trying to grind.”

The interesting part about these rumors is how Auburn’s season is going. The Tigers are the No. 1 team in the country and have only lost one game so far: a double overtime classic to UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis in November.

Report: SEC-filled candidate list emerges for Louisville basketball job

According to a report, Louisville and Chris Mack are on their way toward separating from each other. Dominique Yates of WLKY has already reported a shortlist of candidates in play for Louisville.

Kenny Payne, New York Knicks assistant – Louisville could dip into the NBA for their next head coach in current New York Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne. However, he has plenty of experience in college basketball, working under John Calipari with the Kentucky Wildcats for 10 seasons.

Bruce Pearl, Auburn Tigers head coach – No team is hotter in college basketball right now than the Auburn Tigers. Coming off an electric home win against the Kentucky Wildcats, they gained the No. 1 spot in the AP poll for the first time in program history. During the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Auburn made the Final Four and the moment has not slowed down.

Yates says Pearl wants the Louisville job “badly” and would be willing to leave the Plains.

Will Wade, LSU Tigers head coach – Possibly the most surprising name on the list is LSU head coach Will Wade. Not because of how his teams have performed but because of the off-the-court issues he could possibly bring. Nonetheless, Wade has done a great job making the Tigers a consistent NCAA Tournament team, making it for two of the possible three years there.

Nate Oats, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach – The second coach mentioned from the state of Alabama, Nate Oats has turned around the Crimson Tide in just three seasons. He won the SEC regular-season and tournament championship last season and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.