Pearl No Longer Welcome in Knoxville; Stevens In?

No more of this.

University of Tennessee head men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has reportedly been informed of his termination. The university hasn't officially announced anything yet but the firing is apparently imminent.

The final decision came down ultimately to fire Pearl to save Tennessee's program. Pearl was constantly under the attention of the NCAA and had already been suspended for the first eight SEC games on Tennessee's schedule this year because he lied to NCAA investigators about his backyard barbecue in which high school juniors attended.








The university was afraid of the NCAA putting the hammer down on the program if Pearl had stayed on for another year in Knoxville.

That's kind of fishy because Tennessee officials backed Pearl all throughout the year, then near the end of the season they retracted some of their praise and support. This culminated when Tennessee A.D. Mike Hamilton went on a Tennessee radio station and said the "jury was still out" on whether Pearl would return.

Pearl is widely popular in the state of Tennessee for several reasons. He was very involved in the community and he did arguably one of the coolest things a D-1 basketball coach has ever done. He went to a woman's game a few years back. Pearl was also very successful during his tenure at Tennessee, leading the Vols to NCAA tournament appearances in all six seasons with the program. Reports say there was a support rally for Pearl yesterday in Knoxville.

Do I think Pearl will be back coaching? Absolutely. But, I think he will need to spend a few years as an assistant or as an analyst for one of the many sports outlets in this country. As for a replacement, Butler's Brad Stevens his rumored to be a leading candidate.

I think Stevens should go for it if offered. He's a great coach and his stock might not get any higher than it is right now. When Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard are gone, how good will Butler be?

-Mitch