Steven Pearl was a medical sales representative in 2014. On Monday, he was named Auburn’s men’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 college graduate, to medical sales, to now the youngest head coach in the SEC – highlights the huge overhaul Auburn is undertaking this offseason in the wake of Bruce Pearl’s transition from the sidelines to the office announced Monday.
While Pearl has indeed been in the spotlight for more than a decade — first as a player under his father and later as a coach — there is still plenty to learn about the new head coach of the Tigers as he takes on a new role within the program.
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Kyle Boone
Here’s what to know about Auburn coach Steven Pearl:
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Former player at Tennessee
Pearl was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Tennessee playing under his father from 2007-11. He played in 101 games during that stretch and averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest. He graduated with a degree in marketing and international business in December 2010 and was a three-time member on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. His time overlapped with star Vols guard Chris Lofton, one of six Tennessee players to earn All-American honors with the program. Lofton was a two-time consensus All-American and the 2006-07 SEC Player of the Year.
During Pearl’s playing career, Tennessee won 99 games — which included a program-best 31 wins in 2007-08. They made the NCAA Tournament in every season he was a player and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2010.
Medical sales background
Upon graduation in 2010, Pearl worked for Stryker Corporation, a multinational medical technology company, until 2014 as a medical sales representative.
He told The Athletic earlier this year his career detour was a result of burn-out on basketball. A lifelong coach’s son, he pursued a path that, to him, aligned with his skills.
From The Athletic:
“I just kind of got burnt out, especially with how things ended at Tennessee,” Steven said, and three years of working outside of athletics offered advancement, money and a different perspective.
“Sales obviously correlates with recruiting, and the job was cool, very competitive,” he said. “But you win or lose in basketball and you have your team and staff to celebrate with or be miserable with. The camaraderie, the team aspect of things, that’s what I missed and what you really don’t get on that side of the world.”
Tennessee fired Bruce Pearl in March 2011 after lying to the NCAA in an investigation related to recruiting. He was given a three-year show-cause penalty.
Auburn hired him in 2014 and Steven left his job to join his father’s staff.
Embarking on a coaching career
Auburn hired Bruce Pearl in March 2014, who then hired his son shortly thereafter to serve as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. He later served as director of basketball operations from 2015-17 before being elevated to an assistant coach in 2017. In 2023, he was again elevated, this time to Associate Head Coach.
The younger Pearl was tasked primarily with coordinating Auburn’s defense upon his promotion. Auburn’s defense subsequently soared to new heights, with its field goal percentage defense the last four seasons the best four-year span in school history and its three-point field goal percentage defense the last three seasons also the best in a three-year span in program history.
Auburn has ranked in the top 10 nationally in defense thrice in the last four seasons and has been top-10 in adjusted efficiency metrics at KenPom.com each of the last two seasons — during which Auburn won a combined 59 games.
Pearl also has a taste of head coaching experience on his resume: In 2021, he served as acting head coach vs. North Alabama in a 70-44 win in place of Bruce, who was suspended by the NCAA for two games for failure to monitor his program in a case related to the FBI investigation into corruption that included Tigers assistant Wesley Person. Auburn also won its previous game led by then-assistant and acting coach Wes Flanigan.
Auburn lists Pearl’s most recent coaching responsibilities as “opponent scouting, defensive strategies and adjustments as well as in-game play-calling.” It also credits Pearl for playing a “huge role in the development of Auburn’s big men to go along with a fervent recruiting strategy.”
During his tenure the program has recruited, developed and produced seven NBA Draft picks — including No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr., No. 5 overall pick Isaac Okoro, No. 16 overall pick Chuma Okeke and No. 22 overall pick Walker Kessler.
Contrasting styles
Anyone who has watched Bruce Pearl knows his coaching style: He is synonymous with screaming, sweating and near-bursting blood vessels bulging from his face.
His protege, however, is cut from a different cloth, according to Steven’s wife, Brittany.
“They are the two most dedicated people I know,” she told The Athletic in March. “But personality-wise, I would say they’re quite different.”
Steven is a soft-spoken, self-described “numbers nerd.” In a release from the school Monday, Pearl said he is similar to his father in that he has built a foundation learning from his father “rooted in character, hard work, and team-first values.” Bruce, meanwhile, says he is similar in that he is “actually tougher than I am, and just as competitive.”
Auburn’s athletic director makes move
Auburn athletic director John Cohen said Monday in a press release announcing Pearl’s elevation to head coach that there was no need for an internal national search for a replacement and that hiring within the family tree made the most sense.
Cohen joined Auburn in his role three years ago, at which time Bruce made clear he was nearing the end of his coaching career. He says at the time he thought it important to create an internal national search for a potential successor, during which it became clear to him that Steven was “clearly the best fit.” So when Bruce’s time to step aside did indeed come, Cohen knew the logical conclusion he’d land on.
“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,” Cohen said. “As the associate head coach on what I consider to be one of the elite coaching staffs in college basketball, Steven has played a prominent role in Auburn’s unprecedented success.
“The uncommon stability of Auburn’s coaching staff is a huge reason why our men’s basketball program has won five SEC championships and made two trips to the Final Four in the past eight seasons,” he continued. “Keeping that staff intact was a high priority, and very much a part of our decision-making process. We are thrilled to congratulate Steven and Brittany and are excited to watch Steven lead the program into this next chapter.”
