Auburn basketball Coach Bruce Pearl’s sudden retirement on Monday led to rampant speculation that he would immediately enter the world of politics. Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former head football coach at Auburn, is foregoing a run for reelection in 2026 and opting instead to run for Governor of Alabama. Over the past several months, there’s been a lot of speculation in Alabama that Pearl might resign to seek Tuberville’s seat. Pearl has been increasingly vocal in expressing his political views, especially with respect to Israel, in the past year.

The prospect of Pearl seeking office was almost immediately dismissed by Yellowhammer News, one of the premier political sites in Alabama.  Yellowhammer cited sources close to Pearl who advised them that he had decided not to seek public office despite a few months of consideration and discussion with key donors and political activists.

Pearl then released a video explaining his decision to resign to players, fans and the Auburn Family. “It’s time” he explained, as he recounted the phenomenal success that Auburn basketball had achieved in recent years but that it was time for him to pass the torch. At the conclusion of the video, he hands a basketball to his son Steven, who is immediately assuming the head coaching job at Auburn with a five-year contract. Steven Pearl played basketball for his father at the University of Tennessee and has been serving as Auburn associate head coach for the last several years.

In the video, Bruce Pearl also notes explicitly that he is not going to seek the Alabama Senate seat “because it would mean leaving Auburn, and I am not going anywhere.” Pearl said that he is accepting a position as a special assistant to the athletic director, serving as an ambassador for the school. 

There is still some speculation that Pearl, a strong Trump supporter and vocal advocate for and defender of  Israel, might eventually be coaxed into serving as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is currently serving in that role and has given no indications that he might be leaving the post anytime soon.  

Steve Gill is the editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.