Auburn HC Steven Pearl details how his coaching style differs from his father
By Jacob Moss
Published:
College basketball season is right around the corner, and Auburn, one of the top programs in the country, will be debuting a new head coach after longtime leading man Bruce Pearl suddenly retired last month.
The man filling Pearl’s shoes will be a familiar face for the Tigers, though, as the program announced that his longtime assistant and son, Steven Pearl, was taking over the reins immediately after the elder Pearl announced his departure.
Many have wondered what differences the younger Pearl has with his father when it comes to coaching style, and he sat down with the SEC Network on Wednesday morning at SEC Tip Off to lay out how his coaching philosophy differs from his old man’s.
“On the sideline, I’m not going to be losing my mind as much as BP did from time to time,” Pearl said lightheartedly. “I’m going to be a little more even-keeled because I think that they’re going to respond to how I’m acting during the game. Now, they understand that if we’re not giving the right effort and energy, they know I’m going to coach them hard.”
There’s no question that Pearl seems to have some of the same qualities that made his dad such an effective coach, but there’s probably nobody who could truly replicate the intensity that the elder Pearl brought on game days.
It will be interesting to see how his team responds to his leadership this season, and how far he’s able to take another absolutely loaded Tigers’ squad into March Madness.
Auburn opens its season on Nov. 3 against Bethune-Cookman.
