As they say, all good things must come to an end. After 11 incredibly successful seasons as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, Bruce Pearl has announced his retirement. His son, Steven Pearl, who’s been the team’s associate head coach, will now take over the reins on a five-year deal, keeping the program in the family. The announcement came as a shock to many, as just last year, Bruce Pearl had led the Tigers to their second-ever Final Four appearance. However, many are expecting another shocking development in Bruce Pearl’s life.

For months, speculation has swirled that Pearl might transition from the court to politics, with many suggesting he could run for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Tommy Tuberville. On Monday, though, Pearl clarified the rumors, confirming that he has no plans to enter the Senate race.

“Many of you know that I thought and prayed about maybe running for United States Senate, maybe to be the next great senator from the state of Alabama,” Pearl said. “That would’ve required leaving Auburn. And instead, the university has given me an opportunity to stay here and be Auburn’s senator.”

It’s easy to see why people thought he might make the jump to politics. If you compared the skills needed to succeed as a college coach with those required for a political career, you’d find a lot of overlap. And for a state like Alabama, where college sports are almost a religion, the idea of one former coach taking over a Senate seat from another would have felt oddly perfect. But that won’t be happening, at least for now.

Pearl is staying close to Auburn, supporting his son, and embracing a more ambassadorial role for the program. Politics will have to wait. Still, his personality and leadership style aren’t the only reasons the speculation took off.

According to a report in the Jewish Insider earlier this month, Bruce Pearl spent the summer consulting with Republican strategists and campaign advisors as he considered a potential Senate run. He reportedly set a personal deadline at the end of September to make a final decision, though sources said he was leaning toward passing on the opportunity.

“I have not answered the question because I’ve never announced I was running for senate, have I?” Pearl said at the Mike Slive Foundation’s Blue Shoe Ball. “So, how do you answer the question whether you are or whether you aren’t because I never said I was.”

He later added, “It’s something I thought a great deal about, but obviously I’m here today and I’m in practice and I’ve got practice tomorrow.” With his retirement now official and no practices to attend, you can guess why rumors about a Senate run began circulating.

At 65, Bruce Pearl wrapped up his final season on a high note, guiding Auburn to just the second Final Four in school history. The Tigers stormed through the SEC, claimed the regular-season title, and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. They finished with an impressive 32 wins, falling to Florida in the semifinal.

During his 11 years at Auburn, he led the Tigers to six NCAA tournament appearances, including both of the school’s Final Four runs, and helped them snag at least a share of three SEC regular-season titles along the way, plus two SEC tournament championships. Simply put, he leaves behind a legacy of winning and a program on the rise.

Pearl racked up 246 wins at Auburn, though officially only 232 count. The difference comes from NCAA sanctions that forced the Tigers to vacate several games from the 2016-17 season. And across his coaching journey at Southern Indiana, Milwaukee, Tennessee, and Auburn, Pearl finished with a career record of 706–268. Though again, 12 of those wins were later wiped from the books by the NCAA.

It won’t be a surprise if he ends up earning a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame. He’s one of only 72 coaches to surpass 700 career wins (with NCAA adjustments, he sits at 694). That puts him 11th among active Division I head coaches and 41st on the all-time list. He also ranks among the top five SEC coaches ever in total wins, trailing only legends like Adolph Rupp, Billy Donovan, Dale Brown, and John Calipari.

Still, not all are happy with his successor.

Nepotism at play?

Steven Pearl’s journey at Auburn began back in 2014 as an assistant in strength and conditioning. He moved up to director of basketball operations a year later and became an assistant coach in 2017. Before stepping into the basketball world, he worked as a medical sales representative.

Given that Steven has spent less than ten years in coaching and has only ever worked under his dad, online chatter quickly pointed to nepotism as the reason for his promotion. Many also thought that the timing of Elder Pearl’s retirement was strategic. With around six weeks until the season kicks off, Auburn doesn’t have the luxury of a long, drawn-out search for a new head coach, especially one outside the family. Promoting Associate Head Coach Steven Pearl was the obvious choice, given the timing and the circumstances.

However, athletic director John Cohen put all his trust in Steven, saying that he earned the job. “When I came to Auburn three years ago, Coach Bruce Pearl made it clear to me that he was nearing the end of his coaching days. It was obvious to me – even then – that we needed to create an internal national search to prepare for the time when Coach Pearl would be stepping down,” Cohen said.

“Throughout our detailed process, it became obvious to me and our staff that Steven Pearl was clearly the best fit for Auburn. His expertise in coaching defense, his skills as an evaluator, recruiter, teacher and motivator, and his relationships with our student-athletes and staff were paramount.”

Let’s see how the trust pans out. Auburn is set to kick off its regular season on November 3, taking on Bethune-Cookman.