After two short years in Bristol, Connecticut Bruce Pearl is heading back to coaching. The former Tennessee Volunteers coach is moving back to the SEC after agreeing to terms with Auburn. The Tigers are coming off a 14-16 season and haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2003.
Pearl on the other hand has had a good deal recent success on the hardwood. He was a two-time SEC coach of the year at Tennessee and led the Vols to 3 Sweet 16 appearances in his 6 seasons. Of course, Pearl only now returns to coaching after being fired from Tennessee in spite of his on-course success thanks to his NCAA violations. Pearl’s show-cause penalty ends later this year, so the timing of his return to the sidelines this offseason isn’t coincidental.
As far as Pearl’s leaving ESPN, he was decent as a studio analyst but it always felt like he was just biding his time until he could return to coaching. Pearl went to ESPN at roughly the same time as former Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg. Pearl’s television career never quite took off the way Greenberg’s did as ESPN has spotlighted the former Hokie on several high-profile platforms. ESPN is so deeply stocked with great college basketball analysts and Pearl leaving won’t change the dynamic in Bristol too much as he heads to Auburn.
Maybe he’ll have Aaron Craft over for a cookout to celebrate.
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