Report: Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl to retire

Field Level Media|published: Mon 22nd September, 14:32 2025

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl reacts after a play against the Florida Gators during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is expected to retire after 21 seasons and will be replaced by his son Steven Pearl, ESPN reported Monday.

Pearl, 65, guided the Tigers to a 32-6 record last season and an appearance in the Final Four where they lost to eventual champion Florida 79-73 in the national semifinals. The SEC's regular-season champion entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed.

Pearl has reached the NCAA Tournament 14 times as a head coach and has reached the Final Four on two occasions. He has a career record of 477-244 as a Division I head coach at Milwaukee (2001-05), Tennessee (2005-11) and Auburn (2014-25).

He guided Milwaukee into the NCAA Tournament twice and took Tennessee to the NCAA Tournament in all six seasons with the program. Auburn has made the tournament six times in the past eight seasons, advancing to the Final Four in 2019.

Pearl is Auburn's all-time leader in wins as a head coach with 246.

A Boston College alum, Pearl also coached at Division II Southern Indiana, leading the program to the national championship in 1995. He has assistant coaching experience at Stanford (1982-86) and Iowa (1986-92).

Steven Pearl, 38, played for his father at Tennessee and has been an assistant coach at Auburn since 2017. He was named associate head coach in 2023.

--Field Level Media

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