Bruce Pearl, record-breaking Jewish basketball coach, quits amid rumored senate run

JTA — Bruce Pearl, the winningest head coach in the basketball history of Tennessee’s Auburn University and an outspoken supporter of Israeli and Jewish causes, abruptly announced his retirement on Monday. His son, Steven, is set to take the helm of the Tigers.

The surprise resignation ahead of the opening of the NCAA season comes as Pearl is reportedly considering entering politics. The Republican and supporter of US President Donald Trump has acknowledged a possible run for Senate in Alabama to fill the seat that Tommy Tuberville is vacating next year. Tuberville, too, was a prominent coach in the state before running for office.

“It’s certainly something that I had considered,” Pearl said in early September, according to ESPN. “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.”

Now, his schedule will soon be wide open, a dramatic change for Pearl, 65, who has led Auburn since 2014 and previously was a head coach at three other schools. He also coached the Maccabi USA team to a gold medal at the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

During his 11-year tenure at Auburn, the team has made six NCAA tournament appearances and two Final Four runs. Pearl is coming off a 32-win season in which the Tigers nabbed a No. 1 seed in March Madness and made it to the Final Four — where he was one of three Jewish coaches — before losing to Florida, coached by Pearl’s former protégé (and Maccabi player), Todd Golden. Pearl was also named the co-winner of the Associated Press’ Coach of the Year award for last season.

Beyond his basketball prowess, Pearl has become known for his staunch pro-Israel advocacy. He has brought his teams to Israel, been active in the local Jewish community at Auburn, and earlier this year opened a March Madness press conference speaking about the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Pearl also co-founded the Jewish Coaches Association, which hosts an annual breakfast for Jewish NCAA basketball coaches at the tournament’s Final Four weekend.

At that press conference in March, Pearl tied Auburn’s success to his identity as an American Jew.

“It starts with my faith and it starts with answering the question, ‘Why has God blessed Auburn and this basketball team the way he has all season long?’” he said. “And honestly, it’s to, I think, put us in a platform — in this case right now, myself, as a Jewish American who loves his country more than anything else in the world.”

Steven Pearl, 38, who played for his father at Tennessee, has been on the Auburn staff in various positions since 2014. This will be his first head coaching job.