Indiana Coach Search: Bruce Pearl Would Please Plenty Of Fans

The Auburn coach has the No. 1 team in the nation and once coached in the state of Indiana. Pearl's winning ways make him attractive.

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl waves to the crowd after the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gymnasium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One thing you can take to the bank when it comes to an Indiana men’s basketball coaching search: If a half-way attractive candidate has been complimentary of Bob Knight or worked in anything resembling Knight’s orbit, there will be a segment of Indiana fans who will advocate for him.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl falls into the former category. Pearl, who has Auburn atop the rankings with a 22-2 record, has always said good things about Knight.

“Whether it be the motion offense or the physical defense or just how they play, Bob Knight set the tone. That tone is still the way the Big 10 plays: Physical, fundamental. Truly one of the all-time great, legendary coaches. A man's man,” Pearl said after Knight’s death in 2023.

Pearl said the following to Hoosiers On Sports Illustrated’s Tom Brew in 2023.

“Indiana was my dream job, it really was. I love everything about Indiana basketball, really loved and admired Coach Knight as a young coach myself, and it's one of the great programs in America,” Pearl said. 

"The timing was never right, I suppose. I guess, what, I was at Tennessee and really enjoying that and I love Auburn now. So nothing ever really aligned, but it would have been a dream come true to coach Indiana. That's how much I love and respect that program,” Pearl added.

Take those words, and Pearl’s success, and it’s no wonder a sizable amount of Indiana fans would love to see Pearl patrol the sidelines at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

What Makes Pearl An Attractive Choice

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl takes the court as Auburn Tigers take on Oklahoma Sooners at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The win-loss record, both his current mark and his career one, certainly make a case all by themselves.

Pearl’s career mark is 693-265 after head coaching stints at Southern Indiana (now Division I, then Division II), Milwaukee, Tennessee and Auburn.

Pearl isn’t someone who is coasting on his past either. His Auburn team has the best winning percentage of any of his Division I teams – his previous best was an .861 winning percentage with Tennessee in 2008.

Pearl’s style of play wins. He tends to recruit athletic players who can force the issue defensively. Auburn currently leads the nation in blocked shots at 6.8 per game, and the Tigers are in the top half of Division I in steals.

His teams are relentless in forcing mistakes and creating offense out of defense. Look no further than Auburn’s 104-76 dismantling of Indiana in 2023. The Tigers got up and down the floor before the Hoosiers knew what hit them.

When Auburn plays a half-court offense, the Tigers play a modern four-out set that will take maximum advantage of the 3-point shot. The Tigers have converted 37.2% from long range this season, 42nd-best in Division I. Auburn will take and make all manner of shots. Auburn ranks 25th in field-goal percentage at 48.6% and 37th in shots taken at 62.5 per game. That’s a lethal combination.

Apart from X’s and O’s, Pearl is a popular figure where he has coached. He’s a very public figure and very enthusiastic about selling his program. This extends to his team relationships. Pearl is known as a coach who is a good motivator, and his players grow under his tutelage.

Pearl is also familiar with the Midwest, though he hasn’t been a head coach in the region for 20 years. He certainly would be welcomed by in-state coaches as well as those on the influential club circuits.

What Are Drawbacks With Pearl?

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl gives direction from the bench against the LSU Tigers during the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Pearl has a lot of baggage. It’s one’s own view how serious or disqualifying that baggage is, but it can't be brushed aside without acknowledgement.

Pearl’s successful tenure at Tennessee came to an end in 2011 due to NCAA trouble. Much as Kelvin Sampson did at Indiana, Pearl was caught not being honest with the NCAA investigation into a cookout a recruit took part in during an unofficial visit. Pearl was sanctioned by Tennessee and the SEC at the time.

His time at Tennessee came to an end when further NCAA violations were discovered and some other issues were uncovered involving player discipline. In addition, the NCAA gave Pearl a three-year show-cause penalty, which meant any sanctions given to Pearl at Tennessee would follow him to another coaching job. It essentially made him unhireable.

Pearl was also involved in the FBI investigation into college basketball corruption. Assistant coach and Auburn legend Chuck Person was arrested as part of their probe. Pearl was initially found to be uncooperative with the school in its internal investigation. His computers and cell phone were seized as part of the investigation, but no further sanctions involving Pearl were levied.

Big Ten fans with long memories will also recall Pearl’s role in the Deon Thomas scandal in 1989. Pearl, then an assistant at Iowa on the staff of Tom Davis, recorded a phone call with Thomas in which he asked Thomas if Illinois, specifically Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins, had given him impermissible gifts. Pearl then turned his recording into the NCAA.

The NCAA found no wrongdoing by Illinois and Thomas denied to the NCAA what he told Pearl, but the NCAA found other violations within the Illinois program as a result of the investigation into Thomas and levied restrictions and a postseason ban.

Pearl’s reputation took a hit from the incident and Collins, later a head coach himself, refused to shake his hands when both were in the Horizon League coaching Milwaukee and Illinois-Chicago, respectively.

Many of the things Pearl was involved with would now be legal by current rules, so it’s a legitimate question to ask how much his past transgressions really matter.

One thing certain is that Pearl will not worry about courting negative publicity in the quest to win. Some might view it as an acceptable cost for winning. Others might view it as an unacceptable distraction that puts his institution in an unfavorable light.

Apart from past controversies, another drawback is that Pearl is 64, only two years younger than Mike Woodson. Certainly, age should not be a disqualifying factor in any search and Pearl is winning at a championship clip right now, but if Indiana wants a coach that has more of a long-term future with the program, it would need to hire someone younger.

One inconvenient fact for those who want Final Four pedigree? For all of the success his teams have had, Pearl has only advanced to one Final Four. He made it with Auburn in 2019.

A roadblock from Indiana’s point of view might be timing. If Auburn reaches the Final Four, it will be some time before Pearl could take over the Indiana job. By the time he would be able to give it full attention, it would be several weeks into the transfer portal cycle.

On the other hand, Pearl is the kind of coach attractive enough that it might be worth the wait as he would immediately be a magnet for potential transfers no matter what point he entered the transfer cycle.

Is It Realistic To Expect Pearl To Take The Indiana Job?

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl talks with his team from the bench as Auburn Tigers take on Oklahoma Sooners at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Auburn Tigers lead Oklahoma Sooners 44-34 at halftime. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to published reports, Pearl’s contract at Auburn runs through 2030 and he is paid approximately $5.4 million per year. His buyout has been reported to be $7 million if executed before May 2025.

Indiana can likely afford to pay Pearl a competitive salary and his buyout, but it certainly wouldn’t be the economical option. However, hiring a quality coach is going to require a hefty investment of money from Indiana athletics.

While Pearl has Auburn atop the college basketball world, Auburn is still a football-first school. Indiana is traditionally basketball-first, even with Curt Cignetti’s College Football Playoff success of 2024. Would that basketball focus appeal to Pearl? Only he knows.

While Pearl has Midwest ties and coached in-state, he’s not originally from the Midwest, so it probably shouldn’t be counted on too much that there’s the pull of home as Indiana is concerned.

How realistic Pearl is as an option likely depends on how comfortable Pearl is at Auburn. There are certainly no signs he’s unhappy. He has contract stability, he’s at the top of his game, he’s coaching has his team co-leading the SEC – currently the best conference in college basketball.

Don’t mess with happy? It could be true for Pearl. However, Pearl certainly has the track record to be attractive to Indiana. In the quest to leave no stone unturned, Pearl should certainly be on the short list if Indiana is serious about winning.

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