Auburn men's basketball is on the verge of a new age. On Monday, the school revealed that Bruce Pearl is resigning after 11 years as head coach. Pearl, 65, will continue to work for the athletic department as a special assistant to the athletics director, as an ambassador for the program.

His exit from the sidelines comes on the heels of a historic season in which he guided Auburn to its second-ever Final Four appearance. The Tigers achieved 32 victories, captured the SEC regular-season crown, and entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before losing to Florida in the national semifinal.

Auburn Welcomes Bruce's Son as New Coach

Bruce Pearl Expected to Step Down as Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl Expected to Step Down as Auburn Head Coach
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According to ESPN, Auburn welcomed Steven Pearl, Bruce's son and long-time associate head coach, as its new leader. Steven was offered a five-year contract. He was very persistent in continuing his father's legacy.

Steven played under his father at Tennessee from 2007–2011, subsequently working in medical sales before joining Auburn's staff in 2014. Following close to a decade of experience and being promoted to associate head coach in 2023, he has now become the head coach with strong roots within the program.

Bruce Pearl's Legacy at Auburn

Pearl's 11-year career transformed Auburn basketball into a national program. He went 246–125 (232 officially recognized wins after NCAA sanctions) and took the Tigers to six NCAA tournaments, both of the school's Final Four appearances. Auburn also won three SEC regular-season championships and two SEC tournament titles during his time.

Looking back on his time, Pearl gave kudos to the Auburn community:

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.

Political Speculation Put to Rest

Pearl has long been associated with a possible political future, with chatter that he would seek Tommy Tuberville's U.S. Senate seat. On Monday, he explained he would not seek office, noting Auburn allowed him to play the role of its "senator" without leaving the university family.