Paul Finebaum reacts to Bruce Pearl retirement, 'incredible' career

The college basketball world was shaken by the news on Monday that Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl is retiring. In his place, his son Steven Pearl is set to take over as the team’s head coach.

In the wake of that news, Paul Finebaum appeared on SportsCenter. There, he shared his initial reaction to the news, calling it an incredible career.

“It’s been rumored for some time that he wanted his son Steven to take over.” Paul Finebaum said. “So, it’s maybe not as big a shock as some in college basketball are treating it. What shouldn’t be overlooked here is the incredible, indelible job that he has done.”

Bruce Pearl first got to Auburn in 2014. In his fourth season there, he’d make his first NCAA Tournament there. The next year, he’d make his first of two Final Four appearances. Those are the only two Final Four appearances in program history. He’d also win two of Auburn’s three SEC Tournaments during his time there and three of their six regular season SEC Championships.

Prior to Auburn, Pearl had been the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee, and Southern Indiana. During that time with the Volunteers, he took Tennessee to the Elite Eight and to the Sweet Sixteen on three different occasions. A Boston native, he got his start in college basketball as the manager of the Boston College team.

“He will leave a legacy there that is almost unsurpassed with those two Final Four appearances in a very short period of time, six years. He’s a seminal figure in college basketball,” Finebaum said. “But what’s most important is he took over a moraband program and made it one of the most feared and respected in the country.”

Earlier in September, Bruce Pearl had hinted at retirement. At that time, the 65-year-old admitted that he would “be surprised” if he coached through the remainder of his contract. At the time, it was also reported that he was leaning against running for Senate to replace Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville, another former Auburn coach, is stepping down to run for governor.

Bruce Pearl will be replaced by Steven Pearl. He played for his father at Tennessee and has been on staff at Auburn since 2014. That includes serving as the associate head coach from 2023 to 2025. In September, Bruce had hinted that he would be happy to see Steven or another current staffer replace him.

Now, Steven Pearl’s first season as the team’s head coach is starting just a couple of months from now. Meanwhile, the Tigers are dealing with the 30-day transfer window opening on them due to a coaching change.