Bruce Pearl steps down as Auburn hoops coach after 11 seasons

Bruce Pearl has stepped down as the head coach at Auburn and will move into an ambassador's role in the athletic department as special assistant to the athletics director, the school announced Monday.

Steven Pearl, Pearl's son and the Tigers' associate head coach, is expected to be the head coach for the upcoming season, sources told ESPN.

Dear Auburn Family, I truly love you.@CoachBrucePearl x #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/xFJAEetMLv

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) September 22, 2025

Bruce Pearl, 65, is coming off a season in which he guided Auburn to its second-ever Final Four appearance. The Tigers earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA men's tournament after winning the SEC regular-season championship, racking up 32 wins before falling to Florida in the national semifinal.

He has been the head coach at Auburn for 11 seasons, leading the Tigers to six NCAA tournament appearances and both of the program's Final Four runs. During Pearl's time at Auburn, the Tigers won at least a share of three SEC regular-season titles and two SEC tournament championships.

He went 246-125 at Auburn.

"Eleven years ago, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to become the head basketball coach at Auburn, and it has been nothing short of amazing," Pearl said in a statement. "With the Auburn Family's unwavering support, we have built a program from the ground up and taken it to heights it had never reached before. Not only have we won championships, but we have built the best home-court advantage in college basketball, we've invested in this community and changed lives, and we've developed and graduated Auburn men. We built a program with the core tenants of faith, family and passion, and together, we made history. I hope we have made Auburn proud."

Pearl has long been linked to a post-coaching career in politics, something he addressed in early September following monthslong rumors regarding him as a potential candidate for Tommy Tuberville's open U.S. Senate seat.

"It's certainly something that I had considered," Pearl told reporters. "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."

Prior to taking over at Auburn, Pearl had been the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee and Southern Indiana. He went to the NCAA tournament in all six of his seasons with the Volunteers, including three Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight run. He was fired in 2011 after being charged by the NCAA with unethical conduct after lying during an investigation into recruiting violations.

Pearl was given a three-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA, with Auburn hiring him five months before it ended.