Bruce Pearl admits to nepotism to help son Steven get Auburn head coaching job: ‘Of course I did’

Bruce Pearl said nepotism absolutely played a factor in his son Steven Pearl landing the Auburn head coaching gig, taking over for his father. Steven Pearl is in the middle of his first season with the Tigers, currently sporting a record of 16-14 and on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Steven Pearl has spent his entire coaching and administrative career with Auburn since 2014, when his father took over as head coach. Bruce Pearl went 244-123 with the Tigers and led the team to the Final Four and SEC regular season title last year.

But after a 32-6 season and right before this year began, Bruce Pearl stepped down and his son was promoted from associate head coach to head coach. Anyone who yelled “nepotism” was exactly right, as the former coach admitted it. He’s a full-on fan now that he’s away from coaching.

“Right now, Auburn is on the bubble,” Bruce Pearl told Dan Dakich. “They are either going to play their way in or play their way out. Ok, that’s going to be determined. Had they beaten Ole Miss last Saturday, they beat LSU last night, it may have been enough. Looks to me like they have to win one more to get in.

Steven Pearl a product of ‘nepotism,’ says father Bruce 

“That’s objectively how I feel. Am I rooting for my son to make the NCAA Tournament? Of course I am. Did I help my son get the (Auburn) job, nepotism? Of course, I did. People want to accuse me of something, saying, Yeah, I love the United States of America. I love my ancestral Jewish homeland. No, I’m not going to deny who I am, and who I’ve always been.”

Whether they make the NCAA Tournament or not, Auburn’s program is certainly feeling the heat. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said things have gone “very badly” for Steven Pearl when discussing the Tigers in mid-February.

“It’s gone very badly,” Finebaum said of Pearl’s tenure. “Some are arguing that Steven Pearl ends up being his father. … I don’t necessarily buy that. I don’t like what I’ve seen in this team. … “What’s happening right now, It doesn’t add up, and they are in serious danger. If you go from making the Final Four to not making the NCAA tournament, I don’t care what your last name is, Auburn fans are not going to be very happy.”