What’s Next for Bruce Pearl?

There have been plenty of surprises so far in this year’s NCAA Tournament, with lower seeds knocking off higher seeds several times already. But yeah one of the biggest surprises of the tourney thus far came earlier today in Charlotte in the 8/9 game between Michigan and Tennessee.

Michigan was the eighth-seed and Tennessee was the ninth-seed. The Wolverines won the game. So why should we be surprised?

Well, it was the way they won the game that could have a huge impact on the future of the Tennessee men’s basketball program. The Vols went into the half down far, and finished with a 30-point loss. The second half performance could go down as one of the biggest turning points in the history of Tennessee basketball, depending on what happens next.

We all know what UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said on Wednesday in response to questions about Bruce Pearl‘s job status. If you don’t, it went something like this:

"We don’t know the answer today. I think that we’ve done a lot of soul-searching about the direction of our program and we’ll continue to do that, and we’ll decide after we’re out of the NCAA tournament what the direction is we’ll go next.”"

Keep in mind, he said this on Wednesday. That was only two days ago, right in the middle of Tennessee’s preperation for their game with Michigan. Not exactly what you would call perfect timing.

However, Pearl did get himself in this situation. He’s the one that lied to the NCAA, and he’s the one that will ultimately suffer the consequences for that. He was already punished by the SEC this season, and had to sit out the first eight conference games in the process.

So in that respect, Hamilton wouldn’t have had to say anything if Pearl had followed the rules.

But let’s think about this. Pearl has changed the entire culture of Tennessee basketball. When they hired him in 2005, it was the definition of a perfect hire. He brought enthusiasm to a program that desperately needed it. And he almost took Tennessee to a Final Four last season before losing in the Elite Eight to Michigan State. Before Pearl was hired, this would have been something most Tennessee fans never believed could happen.

However, the Vols have become one of the top teams in the SEC on a regular basis. It wasn’t just last season. His entire tenure there, Tennessee has been relevant in men’s basketball (including a #1 ranking in 2008). But is that going to stop him from losing his job? It looks like it may not.

I think Pearl is a great basketball coach. He could be successful at any program in the entire country. After all this mess though, who will take the chance on him if he is indeed fired at Tennessee?

On the other side of things, who would want to come in and work for someone like Hamilton? Ahhh, and that’s where things get tricky. The guy basically threw his head coach under the bus 48 hours before their NCAA Tournament game, which likely played a factor in the uninspired performance today from the team. Let’s also keep in mind that Hamilton is the one that brought in Lane Kiffin to coach the football team. One season and multiple NCAA violations later, and Kiffin was outta there.

So it’s not a matter of picking sides in terms of who stays and who goes. Because in all honesty, there’s a decent possibility that both could be gone in Knoxville.

The NCAA’s choice of punishment for Pearl could very well be the deciding factor in all of this. If they suspend Pearl for a year, none of this matters because Tennessee will have no choice but to go in another direction. However, if there’s no major punishment that comes from this, then the choice lies with the university.

Based on the performance today and Hamilton’s comments, it would seem clear that Pearl will not be back next season. If that’s the case, then the future of Tennessee basketball is up in the air. There’s no one in college basketball quite like Bruce Pearl. It’s hard to think of anyone that could bring the energy and enthusiasm to that program like Pearl has done for several years now.

The Vols have quite the conundrum on their hands. You fire him, and you lose one of the most successful coaches in the history of your program. You keep him, and you risk the chance of something like this happening again.

And maybe it’s not just a point of whether or not Tennessee trusts Pearl anymore…..but does Pearl trust Tennessee?

So I guess the only thing we can say for now is this:

Happy Birthday, Bruce.

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