Report: Bruce Pearl expected to retire as Auburn basketball coach, son Steven taking over

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is expected to retire, per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Pearl’s son, Steven, is expected to be Auburn’s head coach in the upcoming season.

Bruce Pearl has been Auburn’s head coach since 2014. He led the Tigers to a 32-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in conference play last season. Auburn also won the SEC regular season title and reached the Final Four before falling to Florida.

Pearl has hinted at his impending retirement this offseason. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show earlier this month, Pearl made headlines when he said he didn’t expect to coach through the end of his contract.

“I’ve got five years left on my contract, and I’d be surprised if I were to last five years,” Pearl said. “Let’s just put it that way.”

Amid Pearl’s sudden retirement decision, there will undoubtedly be speculation around his interest in politics. In May, reports surfaced claiming Pearl was interested in running for Senate, with Senator Tommy Tuberville stepping away to run for governor. Jewish Insider‘s Emily Jacobs provided further details on Pearl’s interest in public office on Sept. 9.

“Bruce Pearl, Auburn University’s men’s basketball coach, is leaning against running to replace outgoing Sen. Tommy Tuberville but is giving himself until the end of the month to make a final decision,” Jacobs wrote on X. “Pearl, who would be the only Jewish Republican in the Senate if elected, spent the summer meeting with Alabama campaign operatives & GOP senators as he considered entering the race.

“… Sources close to Pearl tell me he is unlikely to enter the contest, though they stress that the Auburn coach has not officially decided against running yet. Pearl wants to give himself a few more weeks in case he were to change his mind.”

It’s been 13 days since Jacobs’ report. Like Pearl, Tuberville had an extensive coaching history before entering politics. He served as the head football coach at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati before running for Senate in 2020. In May, Tuberville told Semafor he would discourage Pearl from running for office.

“The compensation is a little bit different,” Tuberville said. “I wouldn’t let him do it because he did such a good job at Auburn. We need him there.”

Evidently, Pearl has other plans. During his 11 seasons at the helm of the program, Bruce Pearl led Auburn to a 244-123 record, two SEC Tournament titles, three regular-season conference championships and the only two Final Four appearances in Auburn MBB history.

Bruce’s son, Steven Pearl, has been an assistant at Auburn since 2017. He was the team’s associate head coach from 2023-25 and will now reportedly look to lead the Tigers into a new era.