Steven Pearl’s Tough First Year at Auburn Is Testing Patience on the Plains
When Steven Pearl took over as Auburn’s head coach, it was always going to come with pressure. Following in the footsteps of his father, Bruce Pearl - the architect of the program’s rise to national prominence - was never going to be easy. But as Auburn sits at 14-11 overall and 5-7 in SEC play, the heat is rising, and the questions are getting louder.
Let’s be clear: Steven didn’t just walk into this job cold. He was a trusted assistant on Bruce’s staff and played a major role in building the 2024-25 roster that carried Auburn to just its second Final Four in school history. That run wasn’t a fluke - it was the product of savvy recruiting, particularly in the transfer portal, and a team that bought into its identity.
But the circumstances around Bruce’s retirement last September - just weeks before the season tipped off - left Auburn in a tough spot. There wasn’t time for a national search.
The program turned inward, and Steven was the natural successor. It made sense on paper.
The timing, though, couldn’t have been worse.
Now, with the Tigers struggling to stay afloat in conference play, the spotlight on Steven is growing harsher by the day. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum didn’t mince words this week when he joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, saying bluntly that Auburn is “in serious danger” of missing the NCAA Tournament - a stunning fall just a year after reaching the Final Four.
“It’s gone very badly,” Finebaum said. “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.”
That kind of drop-off - from national contender to bubble status - is always going to raise eyebrows. And while no one should be expected to replicate Bruce’s 50-year coaching résumé in a single season, the reality is that Auburn fans have tasted success.
They’ve seen what a high-level program looks like. And they’re not eager to go backward.
In fairness to Steven, this hasn’t been a smooth ride from the start. Auburn lost key size and rim protection when Emeka Opurum was ruled out for the season back in December.
That blow hurt - not just in terms of stats, but in how the Tigers want to play defensively. The roster is still talented, but it’s not the same group that stormed through March last year.
And while Steven helped build this team, he inherited the burden of high expectations without the luxury of a full offseason to shape the program in his image.
There are also signs that the locker room chemistry may not be clicking the way it needs to. Over the weekend, Steven suspended leading scorer Keyshawn Hall for failing to meet team “standards and expectations” - a move that raised eyebrows across the SEC.
Finebaum didn’t hold back there either, saying, “When you suspend a player, you don’t do it because you’re trying to win some sort of award. You do it because the player has clearly violated team policies to a point where you cannot tolerate it any longer.
So, I’m not about to give him a parade because he kicked off his best player. It just tells me that the players weren’t listening to him.”
It’s a tough spot for any first-year coach, let alone one carrying the weight of a famous last name and a fanbase that’s grown used to winning. The challenge now is whether Steven can steady the ship, rally his team, and make a late-season push.
The good news? Auburn’s schedule offers a glimmer of hope.
Four of their final six opponents are currently ranked below them, giving the Tigers a path - albeit a narrow one - to play their way back into the tournament conversation.
Steven Pearl’s story at Auburn is still being written. One season doesn’t define a coaching career, especially one that began under such unusual circumstances.
But in college basketball, momentum is everything. And right now, the Tigers are running out of time to find theirs.
The next few weeks will say a lot - not just about Steven’s ability to lead, but about how much patience Auburn has for growing pains in a post-Bruce era.