Auburn Tigers basketball coach Bruce Pearl is laying the groundwork for a future political career that could take him away from the Plains and up to the US Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. as the state of Alabama's future U.S. junior Senator.
Don't worry, Tiger fans. The program will be in good hands when Steven takes over.
Bruce went on Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich and shared an understanding of the Republican Party that showed a desire to appeal to both its hawkish and anti-war constituents.
"There were two reasons why I think some Republicans are having some discussions about not being 100 percent supportive of the United States stepping in," Pearl said. "First of all, number one, there are people that truly do believe that they don't, they don't want to get involved, because they don't, they don't want to start wars.
"You have another element, and it's a larger element in the Republican Party that are trying to bring the deficit down, and I get that. And so they're sitting there going, 'Look, we spent all this money in Ukraine. We're spending all this money right now in the Middle East.'"
Ultimately, Pearl made it clear that his make-or-break issue is Israel, and he'll only ever break to one side: fully supporting the Jewish nation.
"Israel is a good investment," Pearl said. "It's our greatest ally. The things that they're able to do for us, technologically, (with) AI, militarily; it's unbelievable. The return on investment and they have kept a nuclear weapon away from Iran."
Pearl would face opposition from Jared Hudson and Steve Marshall in Alabama's Republican primary.
Hudson and Marshall don't have two Final Four runs, and by Election Day 2026, potentially a program-first NCAA Tournament Championship win.
Perhaps that puts Pearl in the lead in the event he makes an improbable run akin to Tommy Tuberville's in 2020.