Auburn basketball: Could Bruce Pearl consider taking Texas HC job?

Yes, Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl could consider taking the Texas Longhorns’ vacant HC role.

Will he?

What’s the most polite way to say hell no?

Pearl isn’t leaving the Plains because of a down year in a season that never had the possibility of hoisting a Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship Trophy in 2021, so the mild letdown that was 2020-21 was never going to be a season he needed to worry about his job security in.

Auburn was a football town before Pearl showed up. Tony Barbee had the Tigers losing non-conference games and failing to register a winning percentage above .500 in his four seasons…which happened to be the first four of the Auburn Arena.

Luckily, the Jungle is alive now at the Auburn Arena, though COVID-19 shrunk the crowds in 2020-21. Pearl is the reason why.

He isn’t going anywhere.

The Pearl-to-Texas chatter started after ESPN College Gameday’s Seth Greenberg floated his and Eric Musselman’s names as potential Shaka Smart replacements in Austin (transcribed by 247Sports):

"“They need energy. They need passion. They need enthusiasm. They need someone that’s going to get that Texas fan base excited,” Greenberg said. “I’m going to throw two names at you. How about Bruce Pearl? Talk about a guy that’s gone into a football environment and created frenzy and a winning atmosphere, a winning environment and style of play and energy. How about Eric Musselman, who goes to Arkansas, flips it around, all of a sudden the same thing."

How about no on all accounts?

Pearl isn’t leaving Auburn after three straight seasons of having the team playing relevant basketball and one down-year for the entire athletics program as a whole. Musselman isn’t leaving Arkansas either, as the Razorbacks are one win away from the Final Four.

Perhaps analysts are confused and believe Texas’ long history of NBA prospects and national relevance in football means that coaches will leave successful programs to be a Longhorn.

Pearl means too much to Auburn basketball, though. UT Austin will need to look elsewhere.