Bruce Pearl defends decision to tweet 'Gus Bus' image after Florida State upset Alabama

Bruce Pearl unexpectedly piled onto rival Alabama on Saturday after Florida State upset the football juggernaut in the season opener. He took to Twitter to praise former Auburn coach and current Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

How? Well, he tweeted a cartoon graphic of the “Gus Bus” rolling over the Alabama elephant mascot.

Notably, the colors of the lettering on the “Gus Bus” appeared awfully close to Auburn navy and orange. Malzahn, of course, was formerly a coordinator and head coach at Auburn and famously gave Alabama legend Nick Saban problems in head-to-head meetings.

But there was considerable backlash to the graphic. So on Thursday, Bruce Pearl took to The Paul Finebaum Show to defend himself.

“Back in the day, you used to be able to be funny,” Pearl said. “Programs like ‘All in the Family,’ you know, or ‘The Jeffersons.’ They couldn’t even exist anymore, because, you know people — you’re not even allowed to make fun of yourself, so on and so forth.

“Look, when, when Florida State beat Alabama, it did remind a lot of us about how Gus had a great record against Alabama, and that offense was hard for Alabama to guard. It just gave us an opportunity to remind the world of something, that a great coach like Gus Malzahn has had Alabama’s number a little bit.”

Bruce Pearl’s defense of his actions actually gave Alabama plenty of credit. If it wasn’t hard to do, folks wouldn’t be so likely to dunk on the Crimson Tide when they beat them.

“Nobody’s, I don’t think, has beaten them anymore,” Pearl said. “What’s wrong with playing that out, and obviously, you know, having a little bit of fun? Look, when we beat Alabama twice in basketball one year, I got the brooms out! We swept them.

“Now, does that upset the Alabama fan base? Sure. And if Nate Oats, or whoever’s coaching their basketball team someday, ever sweeps Auburn, I would be surprised if they don’t get the brooms out. And I certainly wouldn’t want to be disappointed.”

All that said, Bruce Pearl just wants to enjoy the fun aspects of college sports. Upsets are a huge part of that. So is the playful ribbing that comes with it.

So don’t expect him to back down anytime soon. Or alter his behavior on social media.

“I think you’ve got to have some fun with it,” Pearl said. “And, look, we’ve got great rivalries in the SEC. There are a bunch of teams in this league that I want to beat more than others. Alabama, as my rival, is one of them. But everybody also knows I have great respect for Alabama. I have great respect for the athletic program, and certainly have great respect for coach Oats and what they do in basketball. And so it was OK to have a little bit of fun, and actually to recognize Gus Malzahn for the success he’s had, because Gus Malzahn’s still an Auburn man, and he always will be.

“And you know who’s OK with that too, Paul? Coach (Hugh) Freeze was OK with that. Like, coach is great friends with Gus, and he was happy for Gus just as well. It’s just that I’m a little bit older, and I’m a little bit more out there on social media, so I was the one that took the shot.”