Bruce Pearl Addresses Louisville Speculation Amid Coaching Rumors

The firing of Louisville head coach Chris Mack has brought speculation that a current SEC coach could be interested in the opening. Amid the chaos of Mack's departure, rumors started floating that Auburn's Bruce Pearl would be interested in the job, with his team currently sitting at No. 1 in the country.

UPDATE: AUBURN AD ALLEN GREENE AND BRUCE PEARL ANNOUNCE THEY'VE AGREED TO CONTRACT EXTENSION

During an appearance on Keyshawn, Will & Max on ESPN, Bruce Pearl was asked about the job opening and being linked to a storied college basketball powerhouse. Jay Williams mentioned that Pearl has never been at a 'basketball-first' school, but Pearl jokingly shot that narrative down.

"I was at a basketball school, I was at Tennessee. Now, it was a women's basketball school, but it was a basketball school.

“Listen, when you win, folks are worried you’re going to leave,” Pearl said. “When you’re losing, they’re packing your bags. … Look, Auburn is a fabulous place and it’s been the best place that I’ve ever been where I can develop players. It’s a small college town. Kids come here to grind. They’re around other student-athletes that are trying to grind, and we're about an hour and half from Atlanta. As you know, Jay, there are a lot of good players in Atlanta."

Pearl didn't really shoot down the conversation about Louisville in the course of the interview. He could've easily said he was happy at Auburn and that he looks forward to being at the school for a long time. But, whether on purpose or not, he left some room for the speculation to continue.

The simple logic to this situation is Bruce Pearl wants an upgrade to the facilities at Auburn, as well as more money. This situation with Louisville could be the perfect opportunity for him to get both.

We'll see what happens, but for now, Pearl is focused on leading his team to a win over Oklahoma this weekend.