Bruce Pearl says he has no problem being objective about Auburn basketball
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Bruce Pearl has faced some criticism from fans and media for making Auburn’s NCAA Tournament case in his role as a college basketball analyst, but the former AU head coach says he has no problem being objective about his former program, now led by his son.
Pearl, who joined Turner Sports and CBS Sports as an analyst for the 2025-26 season after stepping away from the Auburn coaching job, visited The Dan Patrick Show on Monday. Patrick asked Pearl if he can be objective about Auburn.
“Yes, I 100% can,” Pearl said to Patrick. “Like, I think it’s okay that Auburn and Oklahoma, for example, aren’t in the field. I think it’s okay. They should have won one more game. And so there’s nobody complaining about it, but I pride myself on telling what I really think.”
Though Pearl feels his analysis was objective, he acknowledged that he was supporting Auburn.
“Was I rooting for my son? Of course, I was rooting for my son,” Pearl said of Auburn and head coach Steven Pearl. “People say, ‘Well, you got your son the job.’ No, I didn’t get my son the job. My son played for me. My son was assistant for me for 11 years. He was the associate coach. He was the defensive coordinator.
“Did I help him? Absolutely, I did. As a dad, of course I did.”
Beyond being the former head coach and father of the current head coach, Pearl is also still involved with the Auburn program. When asked about still being paid by Auburn, Pearl acknowledged that he is an ambassador for the program. He joked that he could have made much more Auburn money by getting fired instead of stepping down.
"Objectivity for me? Not an issue."
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) March 16, 2026
– @coachbrucepearl on discussing #Auburn as an analyst. pic.twitter.com/BYIXV2D5BV
Though Bruce Pearl and Steven Pearl both made Auburn’s NCAA Tournament case, the Tigers finished just outside the field of 68. Auburn will play postseason basketball as the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT.
Prediction market Kalshi is taking action on Tuesday night’s game at Neville Arena!
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
