Steven Pearl expected to sign multi-year deal as new Auburn men's basketball head coach

Auburn will sign Steven Pearl to a multi-year deal as the basketball team’s new head coach, according to The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman. This comes on the heels of his father Bruce Pearl announcing his retirement.

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.

Steven Pearl has only coached at Auburn throughout his career. Every year, he coached under his father since becoming an assistant in 2017. Prior to that, Steven Pearl was the assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2014-15 and then the Director of Basketball Operations from 2015-17 before transitioning to the sideline.

Bruce Pearl 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.”

Now that Bruce Pearl is off to the next phase of his life, Steven Pearl will be in charge of taking over a team that is coming off a Final Four appearance. The former Tennessee basketball player will likely have big expectations right away.

Amid the sudden retirement decision, there will undoubtedly be speculation around Bruce Pearl’s 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. The coach has since said he would serve as “Auburn’s senator, as an ambassador at Auburn”

Jewish Insider‘s Emily Jacobs provided further details on Pearl’s interest in public office on Sept. 9. At that time, she reported it was unlikely Bruce Pearl would run.

“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.”