Auburn coach Bruce Pearl’s abrupt retirement as its men’s basketball coach on Monday — just 42 days out from its season-opener — might come as a surprise to those who have followed Pearl at arm’s length in recent years.
It is not, however, a surprise to many who have followed closely Pearl’s evolving passions in recent years.
The 65-year-old Pearl in recent months has openly flirted with the idea of staging a run in the political realm, made possible by Tommy Tuberville’s recent decision to vacate his Alabama Senate seat to run for governor. That has coincided with posts shared with increasing frequency on Pearl’s own social media related to politics, the war in Gaza, his Jewish heritage and his support of President Donald Trump.
Pearl on Monday swatted down those rumors of an imminent political run, at least for now, in announcing his retirement as basketball coach. His son, Steven, will take over. The elder Pearl will transition into an ambassador’s role in the athletic department as special assistant to the athletic director.
Bruce Pearl retires: Auburn coach abruptly steps down after 11-year tenure, greatest run in program history
Matt Norlander
In a 14-minute long video shared by Auburn on Monday, Pearl simply concluded: “It’s time.”
“Auburn is our home. … Many of you know that I thought and prayed about maybe running for the United States Senate maybe to be the next great senator from the state of Alabama. That would’ve required leaving Auburn. Instead, the university has given me an opportunity to stay here and be Auburn’s senator.”
Political aspirations
Sources tell CBS Sports that Pearl did indeed strongly consider running for the open senate seat in Alabama, which he has purposely chosen not to refute this summer. Had he ran, sources said, his plan was to hand the keys to Auburn’s kingdom off to Steven.
A report from the Jewish Insider earlier this month indicated he spent the summer meeting with campaign operatives and Republicans weighing a run at the senate seat, and that he was giving himself until the end of September before deciding. At the time, the report said, he was “leaning against it.”
“I have not answered the question because I’ve never announced I was running for senate, have I?” Pearl said at the Mike Slive Foundation’s Blue Shoe Ball, via AL.com, earlier this month. “So, how do you answer the question whether you are or whether you aren’t because I never said I was.”
He later added: “It’s something I thought a great deal about, but obviously I’m here today and I’m in practice and I’ve got practice tomorrow.”
Pearl, perhaps intentionally, did not squash the idea of a political future in his announcement Monday. He instead said his new role will allow him to be “Auburn’s senator.”
Why now?
With 42 days until the season-opener, Auburn has next to no time to stage a national search should it have even wanted to find a Pearl successor not in the family’s direct bloodline. And as Associate Head Coach, Steven’s elevation — especially given the timing — is a no-brainer.
The timing seems to be strategic for the elder Pearl — a deadline for the senate run is coming soon — to say nothing about the season starting in less than two months. Auburn’s hand is forced. This is not a unique move, either. Virginia coach Tony Bennett last October abruptly retired, giving the program no choice but to elevate Ron Sanchez.
Former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan also retired abruptly in 2015 in a rare mid-season decision. The move allowed for long-time Badgers assistant Greg Gard to take over.
At Auburn, this arrangement allows the best of both worlds for all parties it appears: Steven will take over and relieve Auburn of any duties to find a successor, and Bruce will remain close.
Pearl’s legacy
Pearl steps down as the winningest coach in Auburn men’s basketball history with 232 victories. He guided the program to two Final Fours (2019 and 2025), five SEC championships and six NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over in 2014. The decision ends what was a more than four-decade long run as coach accounting for assistant coaching roles.
He finishes with a 706-268 record across stops at Southern Indiana, Milwaukee, Tennessee and Auburn. (Of those, 12 wins were vacated by the NCAA.)
The next stop? It might just be the Basketball Hall of Fame. Only 72 coaches have eclipsed 700 career wins (although, again, officially, he finishes at 694). That ranks No. 11 among active Division I head coaches in career wins and 41st all-time.
Other accolades include:
- Sixth-most SEC men’s basketball championships in conference history
- Top-five all-time among SEC coaches in overall victories behind Adolph Rupp, Billy Donovan, Dale Brown and John Calipari
- Led Auburn to school-record 32 wins in 2024-25; Auburn was ranked No. 1 for eight consecutive weeks and earned NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed for first time
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