The firing of Bruce Pearl in 2011 proved costly for Tennessee basketball in many ways. Since hiring Rick Barnes in 2015, the Auburn Tigers from Pearl have cost UT the SEC Regular Season Championship in 2018, a share of the SEC Championship in 2019 and the SEC Tournament Championship in 2019.
Simply put, Pearl went from being UT’s most beloved figure of the mid-to-late 2000s to one who remains a thorn in the side, and it’s all because of the actions the Vols took themselves- same. Well, another decision from the Vols means Pearl will remain a thorn in their side.
Unfortunately for Tennessee basketball, after being courted by other programs across the country, Auburn just signed Pearl to an eight-year extension worth over $50 million. according to the AP. Auburn athletic director Allen Greene announced the move Friday night.
🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨🚨🚨@coachbrucepearl is🔒for life! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/vtfZ8yWFAF
—Allen Greene (@AGreeneIV) January 29, 2022
Make no mistake, the Flights are responsible for this. They’re not only responsible for this by giving Pearl his first high profile job and making him a household name in 2005 when he seemed to be blackballed by everyone due to the Dean Thomas incident at the late 1980s.
A decision by Barnes and Phillip Fulmer also made them responsible for this. In 2019, the UCLA Bruins suffered from a disastrous coaching search. They decided to open the checkbook to try to bring Barnes to Southern California.
After leading UT to the Sweet Sixteen, 30 wins and a No. 1 ranked the previous year, Barnes had more clout than ever on Rocky Top. This leverage led to the Flights giving him a five-year contract worth $26 million, and according to USA TODAY Networkat the time made him one of the six highest paid coaches in the country.
It was a stroke of finesse from a Barnes coach who has no national championships and only one Final Four appearance on his resume. He later admitted that he would have left Tennessee basketball for the job at UCLA if not for the money. The Vols needed that and his proximity to his hometown to keep him in Knoxville.
Well, Pearl only has one Final Four appearance and no national championship at that level either. However, his Final Four is newer than Barnes’ Final Four, he is six years younger, and he coached in Division I for 17 fewer seasons than Barnes. Oh, it’s also worth noting that Pearl won a Division II National Championship in 1995 with the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles.
Simply put, Tennessee basketball reset the compensation market with the contract it gave Barnes. That, combined with the fact that the Vols backed Pearl only to have him fired for lying about a violation that isn’t even a violation anymore, is how Pearl was able to get this big contract recently. It could also make him a thorn in UT’s side for much longer.