Another coach in the Senate? Auburn basketball’s Bruce Pearl rumored as Tommy Tuberville’s replacement

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) announced he is running for governor of Alabama, soon vacating a seat and prompting a potentially competitive Republican primary.

Tuberville was a successful college football coach at Auburn, Cincinnati, and more. Now, discussions are reportedly already under way to find his replacement, with another NCAA coach rumored to be the favored candidate for a 2026 special primary.

‘The compensation is a little bit different.’

According to a report from Semafor, Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl has plans to run for the vacant seat and was on Capitol Hill discussing those plans last week.

The most obvious factor that could stop Pearl from running is his lucrative contract that is supposed to keep him at Auburn through 2030. According to On3, Pearl signed a contract extension in 2022 worth $6.28 million per year, totaling over $50 million.

At the same time, Tuberville told the media he does not want Pearl to run and does not think he will.

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in his office in December 2024. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

“The compensation is a little bit different,” Tuberville told Semafor. “I wouldn’t let [Pearl] do it because he did such a good job at Auburn. We need him there.”

The basketball coach has an incredibly political social media timeline; his X feed is filled with shared posts that are pro-Israel and critical of Iran.

“Enriched Uranium is for a weapon, not power,” Pearl wrote. “Iran says it will not give up its ability to enrich uranium against US demands. For Iran, it is a matter of national honor and part of their identity. If Iran had it, they would use it! Dismantle it now 4peace or Israel needs to do it.”

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Pearl has been successful at Auburn since joining as head coach in 2014. He brought the basketball team its first conference championship in 19 years in 2018, with two more in 2022 and 2025. The 65-year-old is also responsible for Auburn’s only two NCAA Final Four appearances: in 2019 and 2025.

In 2011, Pearl, then the head coach at the University of Tennessee, was accused of lying to the NCAA about an unofficial visit from an athlete attending a cookout at his home. Pearl was alleged to have told the athlete and his father not to mention it.

Coach Pearl did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

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