GOP chatters about Auburn coach Bruce Pearl for Senate
Another Alabama senator named coach? There's some talk about it.
With Sen. Tommy Tuberville expected to announce a run for governor as soon as Tuesday, there's already discussion about who will replace him. And one of the names being floated is Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl, an outspoken Israel supporter and opponent of antisemitism.
One person familiar with the situation said they heard Pearl plans to run — he's chairman of the US Israel Education Association, and he was on Capitol Hill just last week. His X feed, meanwhile, isn't what one would typically expect of a head college coach: One of his most recent posts calls for dismantling Iran's nuclear program.
Despite his clear interest in some political issues, others are skeptical Pearl would ever get into the race and see him as a longshot given his success on the court.
After all, there's a $6 million reason why he might decide to stay at Auburn, where Pearl led his team to the Final Four this spring. He was also honored earlier this year as the Associated Press co-coach of the year.
'The compensation is a little bit different,' Tuberville told Semafor. 'I wouldn't let him do it because he did such a good job at Auburn. We need him there.'
Tuberville said he did not believe Pearl would go through it. Pearl could not be reached for comment for this story despite several attempts.
Tuberville helped pave the way for a coach-to-lawmaker pipeline. He ran for Senate in 2020 after a long career coaching college football, working as Auburn's head football coach from 1999 to 2008.
Tuberville told Semafor that 'if I do this thing with the governor, we'll have somebody good to have an opportunity to run' for the Senate seat.
Though Tuberville beat an incumbent Democrat in 2020, his seat is now seen as safely red and as a result is likely to draw plenty of attention from GOP hopefuls in the House and state government in Alabama, in addition to Pearl.
After the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington last week, Bruce Pearl 'the tremendous rise in antisemitism' and said the phrase 'free Palestine' means 'free Palestine of the Jews.'
Other names may be interested in Tuberville's seat, AL.com , including Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall and Mo Brooks, a former congressman.
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