One former Auburn player who played under both Bruce and Steven Pearl is already looking for a change on the Plains after the Tigers dropped 96-84 to rival Alabama, getting swept in the season series between the two and basically killing any chance of making the NCAA Tournament outside of a run to the SEC Tournament title.
Wendell Green, who played for the elder Pearl from 2021-23, posted on Twitter his opinion of what needs to happen on the Plains following this season.
Clear house.
— WENDELL GREEN JR ✞❤️🩹 (@icyywen) March 8, 2026
While Auburn athletic director John Cohen won’t pull the plug on the Steven Pearl experiment that fast, the basketball program totally needs a remake after a disappointing season that saw them starting in the top 25 to not making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.
Wendell Green calls for a change on the Plains
Alabama put the dagger in Auburn’s coffin on Saturday night, with the final score looking closer than the game really was. Auburn finishes the season 16-15 and 7-11 in SEC play, a far cry from what was expected under Pearl’s father, Bruce, during the latter parts of his tenure in charge.
The younger Pearl’s first season in charge has been full of discipline issues, blowout losses to top-ranked non-conference teams already on the schedule and disappointing losses during the last few weeks that have left Auburn on the wrong side of the bubble. The 38-year-old coach has not helped himself, calling out players in his press conference, but he will be provided another year to prove himself.
If Steven fails in Season 2, things could turn ugly on the Plains, especially in the wake of how he was handed the job after his father suddenly retired on the first day of practice, giving Auburn no option but to leave Steven with the job. It also didn’t help when, earlier this week, his father went on national radio saying that he helped his son get through the job through nepotism.
It was a disappointing season. Let’s see how the program fares from here.