Auburn AD continues to issue support for Bruce Pearl’s return: ‘I think it’s in our best interest to stay the course’
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Despite what many may have regarded as a foregone conclusion following the firing Chuck Person and the suspensions of Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy, Bruce Pearl may in fact survive to coach Auburn next season.
According to Auburn AD Allen Greene, he’s seen enough from Pearl in his short time on The Plains to say his basketball coach coming off an SEC regular-season basketball title will return next season. During a Wednesday appearance on WJOX 94.5 FM radio show The Roundtable, Greene issued a strong vote of confidence in Pearl.
“What I tell people is, I had not had a chance until I got here to really interact with Coach Pearl and his staff and to really get an understanding of the lay of the land,” Greene said on the air. “I felt that, after being on campus for a few weeks and being around that team, I had a good enough chance to understand Coach. Look at his program and just realize we do have a great person here for us and we want to see that success continue.
“We want to do it the right way. It’s unfortunate that the state of college basketball is where it is. We didn’t get that way overnight, we won’t fix things overnight. But knowing the process of the FBI and NCAA investigation is, who knows how long it will be, but it will be lengthy, I think it’s in our best interest to stay the course.”
Auburn’s AD was then asked if it was his desire to Pearl to be the coach next season, unless something changes? (presumably with the ongoing FBI/NCAA investigation)
“Absolutely,” Greene answered.
That’s a strong statement of support of Pearl from Greene and one that leaves little wiggle room. For all the doubters out there, it seems more likely than not that Pearl will live to coach another season on The Plains.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
