When it comes to a run for office, one high profile SEC coach has made a decision on whether to seek a political post.
Warner Brothers/Discovery and CBS announced Thursday that former Tennessee and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has joined CBS and TNT for its college basketball broadcasts as a color commentator and studio analyst for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
CBS SPORTS STRENGTHENS ROSTER OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL ANALYSTS WITH BRUCE PEARL AND ROBBIE HUMMEL‼️@coachbrucepearl and @RobbieHummel to call CBS regular-season games and contribute to studio coverage, as well as CBS Sports and TNT Sports’ joint coverage of March Madness. pic.twitter.com/D5Ds97g2ar
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) October 16, 2025
Pearl, who stepped down from his position as Auburn’s head coach in September, will work regular season college basketball games for CBS as a color analyst as well as a studio analyst. For TNT, he will only be a studio analyst with Adam Lefkoe, Jalen Rose, and Jamal Mashburn.
“I’ve long admired and deeply respected the way TNT Sports delivers the best studio shows in the industry, along with the way they treat everyone as family, and I could not be more excited to join the amazing team they’ve assembled to cover college basketball,” Pearl said in a statement. “The product has never been in better shape on the court and I’m going to bring the same passion I displayed as a coach to broadcasting. I can’t wait for the start of the season.”
Pearl Decision Leaves Other High Profile Names For Run
He was rumored to be interested in Tuberville’s Alabama Senate seat
The decision to joins CBS and TNT likely rules out any chance that Pearl would run in 2026 to try and take the seat in the United States Senate currently occupied by former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville. It’s the same seat that ESPN college football commentator and radio host Paul Finebaum has also been rumored to be running for.
Pearl spent 11 seasons at Auburn, and seven years coaching Tennessee. He was also head coach at Southern Indiana and Milwaukee.
