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Auburn Tigers men's basketball head coach Bruce Pearl is reportedly expected to announce his sudden retirement on Monday (September 22), sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN.
Pearl's son, Steven, who currently serves as the Tigers' associate head coach, is reportedly expected to take over as the team's head coach for the upcoming 2025-26 NCAA men's basketball season. Bruce Pearl, 65, is coming off his second-even Final Four appearance, having led Auburn to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA March Madness Tournament and an SEC regular-season championship, finishing with a 32-6 (15-3) overall record.
Pearl joined Auburn in 2014 and led the program to a 244-123 (112-83 SEC) record, which includes at least a share of three regular-season SEC titles and two SEC Tournament championships. The Boston native had previously coached the Tennessee Volunteers from 2005 to 2011, having been fired after being charged by the NCAA with unethical conduct, as well as Milwaukee from 2001 to 2005 and Southern Indiana from 1992 to 2001, retiring with a 706-268 overall head coaching record.
Pearl has been linked to a potential political career after coaching, which included rumors of being a potential candidate for Tommy Tuberville's open U.S. Senate seat.
"It's certainly something that I had considered," Pearl told reporters via ESPN. "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."