Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl declined to talk about his interest in running for the U.S. Senate when asked by AL.com on Wednesday.

Pearl, along with all of the league’s football and basketball coaches, was in attendance at SEC spring meetings. Each time Pearl walked out of the meetings through the hallway with reporters, he didn’t stop to speak, holding his phone up to his ear while walking past other coaches doing interviews.

The questioning comes after it was reported by the news website Semafor that Pearl was being talked about as a potential candidate for Tommy Tuberville’s seat after Tuberville announced his run for governor.

Pearl, who began his Auburn tenure in 2014, is outspoken about his political beliefs on X (formerly Twitter), often posting in support of Israel.

Tuberville told Semafor that he was “doubtful” Pearl would take the position and said, “I wouldn’t let him do it because he did such a good job at Auburn.”

“We need him there.”

Auburn is coming off its second Final Four appearance during Pearl’s tenure and recently had two pieces of positive roster news for the 2025-2026 season. It started with landing a commitment from Serbian big man Filip Jovic, which was followed by retaining guard Tahaad Pettiford who withdrew from the 2025 NBA Draft.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkusor email him at [email protected]m