Steven Pearl was a medical gross sales consultant in 2014. On Monday, he was named Auburn’s males’s basketball coach and awarded a five-year deal to succeed his father, Bruce.
The meteoric rise of the 38-year-old Pearl — from 2010 faculty graduate, to medical gross sales, to now the youngest head coach within the SEC – highlights the massive overhaul Auburn is endeavor this offseason within the wake of Bruce Pearl’s transition from the sidelines to the workplace introduced Monday.
Whereas Pearl has certainly been within the highlight for greater than a decade — first as a participant below his father and later as a coach — there’s nonetheless loads to be taught concerning the new head coach of the Tigers as he takes on a brand new position throughout the program.
What’s subsequent for Bruce Pearl after Auburn handoff? Senate rumors on maintain — for now
Kyle Boone
This is what to find out about Auburn coach Steven Pearl:
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Former participant at Tennessee
Pearl was a four-year letterwinner on the College of Tennessee taking part in below his father from 2007-11. He performed in 101 video games throughout that stretch and averaged 1.2 factors and 1.1 rebounds per contest. He graduated with a level in advertising and worldwide enterprise in December 2010 and was a three-time member on the SEC Tutorial Honor Roll. His time overlapped with star Vols guard Chris Lofton, certainly one of six Tennessee gamers to earn All-American honors with this system. Lofton was a two-time consensus All-American and the 2006-07 SEC Participant of the 12 months.
Throughout Pearl’s taking part in profession, Tennessee received 99 video games — which included a program-best 31 wins in 2007-08. They made the NCAA Event in each season he was a participant and superior to the Elite Eight in 2010.
Medical gross sales background
Upon commencement in 2010, Pearl labored for Stryker Company, a multinational medical know-how firm, till 2014 as a medical gross sales consultant.
He instructed The Athletic earlier this yr his profession detour was a results of burn-out on basketball. A lifelong coach’s son, he pursued a path that, to him, aligned together with his abilities.
From The Athletic:
“I simply type of obtained burnt out, particularly with how issues ended at Tennessee,” Steven stated, and three years of working exterior of athletics supplied development, cash and a unique perspective.
“Gross sales clearly correlates with recruiting, and the job was cool, very aggressive,” he stated. “However you win or lose in basketball and you’ve got your staff and workers to rejoice with or be depressing with. The camaraderie, the staff facet of issues, that is what I missed and what you actually do not get on that facet of the world.”
Tennessee fired Bruce Pearl in March 2011 after mendacity to the NCAA in an investigation associated to recruiting. He was given a three-year show-cause penalty.
Auburn employed him in 2014 and Steven left his job to hitch his father’s workers.
Embarking on a training profession
Auburn employed Bruce Pearl in March 2014, who then employed his son shortly thereafter to function an assistant energy and conditioning coach. He later served as director of basketball operations from 2015-17 earlier than being elevated to an assistant coach in 2017. In 2023, he was once more elevated, this time to Affiliate Head Coach.
The youthful Pearl was tasked primarily with coordinating Auburn’s protection upon his promotion. Auburn’s protection subsequently soared to new heights, with its subject aim share protection the final 4 seasons the most effective four-year span in class historical past and its three-point subject aim share protection the final three seasons additionally the most effective in a three-year span in program historical past.
Auburn has ranked within the prime 10 nationally in protection thrice within the final 4 seasons and has been top-10 in adjusted effectivity metrics at KenPom.com every of the final two seasons — throughout which Auburn received a mixed 59 video games.
Pearl additionally has a style of head teaching expertise on his resume: In 2021, he served as appearing head coach vs. North Alabama in a 70-44 win instead of Bruce, who was suspended by the NCAA for 2 video games for failure to watch his program in a case associated to the FBI investigation into corruption that included Tigers assistant Wesley Particular person. Auburn additionally received its earlier recreation led by then-assistant and appearing coach Wes Flanigan.
Auburn lists Pearl’s most up-to-date teaching tasks as “opponent scouting, defensive methods and changes in addition to in-game play-calling.” It additionally credit Pearl for enjoying a “enormous position within the improvement of Auburn’s huge males to associate with a fervent recruiting technique.”
Throughout his tenure this system has recruited, developed and produced seven NBA Draft picks — together with No. 3 general choose Jabari Smith Jr., No. 5 general choose Isaac Okoro, No. 16 general choose Chuma Okeke and No. 22 general choose Walker Kessler.
Contrasting types
Anybody who has watched Bruce Pearl is aware of his teaching model: He’s synonymous with screaming, sweating and near-bursting blood vessels bulging from his face.
His protege, nevertheless, is minimize from a unique material, in response to Steven’s spouse, Brittany.
“They’re the 2 most devoted folks I do know,” she instructed The Athletic in March. “However personality-wise, I’d say they’re fairly totally different.”
Steven is a soft-spoken, self-described “numbers nerd.” In a launch from the varsity Monday, Pearl stated he’s much like his father in that he has constructed a basis studying from his father “rooted in character, exhausting work, and team-first values.” Bruce, in the meantime, says he’s comparable in that he’s “really more durable than I’m, and simply as aggressive.”
Auburn’s athletic director makes transfer
Auburn athletic director John Cohen stated Monday in a press launch saying Pearl’s elevation to move coach that there was no want for an inside nationwide seek for a alternative and that hiring throughout the household tree made essentially the most sense.
Cohen joined Auburn in his position three years in the past, at which period Bruce made clear he was nearing the tip of his teaching profession. He says on the time he thought it essential to create an inside nationwide seek for a possible successor, throughout which it grew to become clear to him that Steven was “clearly the most effective match.” So when Bruce’s time to step apart did certainly come, Cohen knew the logical conclusion he’d land on.
“His experience in teaching protection, his abilities as an evaluator, recruiter, instructor and motivator, and his relationships with our student-athletes and workers had been paramount,” Cohen stated. “Because the affiliate head coach on what I think about to be one of many elite teaching staffs in faculty basketball, Steven has performed a outstanding position in Auburn’s unprecedented success.
“The unusual stability of Auburn’s teaching workers is a large cause why our males’s basketball program has received 5 SEC championships and made two journeys to the Closing 4 prior to now eight seasons,” he continued. “Maintaining that workers intact was a excessive precedence, and really a lot part of our decision-making course of. We’re thrilled to congratulate Steven and Brittany and are excited to observe Steven lead this system into this subsequent chapter.”