It's no secret that politics has become Auburn Tigers basketball coach Bruce Pearl's primary passion in life. Since October 7, 2023, he has been a rabid supporter of Israel, tweeting multiple times a day about the war in Gaza.
Pearl has started making appearances on FOX News, and a potential run for Alabama's junior U.S. Senate seat in 2026, set to be vacated by former Auburn Tigers football coach Tommy Tuberville, is an announcement many expect at some point.
Where does that leave his 2025-26 team ahead of what could be his final season?
Well, as CBS Sports' Kyle Boone predicts while looking at the Tigers-Houston Cougars matchup at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham on November 16, there won't be a fall-off to irrelevancy despite returning only Tahaad Pettiford from last year's core.
"It's not crazy to think this season's Houston-Auburn game in November could again serve as another litmus test for two contending powers," Boone wrote.
"I'm very much excited to see how these teams fare against one another. This will, of course, be a huge test for a Cougars team with title aspirations, but also a worthy challenge for Auburn to see just how ready it is to punch against big dogs. It'll also pit college stars against each other -- Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn) vs. Milos Uzan (Houston), specifically -- to say nothing of the chess match between coaches Kelvin Sampson and Bruce Pearl. This matchup has all the goods you want."
Steven Pearl is Bruce Pearl's eventual replacement as AU's head coach
With Bruce potentially off to the U.S. Senate, Steven will take his place on the Plains perched atop the basketball program's pecking order.
The Athletic's Joe Rexrode broke down this unspoken succession plan in March.
"And though nepotism naturally invites questions about the competence of the person with access to a coveted situation simply through blood ties, the questions have changed over the course of the best stretch in Auburn men’s basketball history," Rexrode wrote. "As the No. 1 overall seed Tigers prepare to take on No. 5 seed Michigan in the South Regional semifinals on Friday in Atlanta, then perhaps No. 2 seed Michigan State or No. 6 seed Ole Miss with a trip to the Final Four on the line, they go like this:
"How much of this program’s success can be traced specifically to the work of Steven Pearl?
"Should he be the one to take it over when his 65-year-old father eventually decides to retire?
"There’s no coach-in-waiting designation from Auburn at this point, but it’s possible the Pearls could be like the Meyers, the Bennetts, the Drews and others in being granted a father-to-son succession plan. Once Vito Corleone had to relent and let Michael run the family business, he put him in the best possible spot to succeed."
If this is Bruce's swan song, it's expected to play out like the last half-decade of Auburn Tigers basketball.
And Steven will pick up right where he left off, possibly even bringing the program to new heights his father couldn't achieve.