Bruce Pearl reveals hilarious reaction from wife over infamous shirtless student section decision

Bruce Pearl has the Auburn Tigers basketball program on top of the world. No man may be loved more than the head coach after reaching No. 1 in the AP poll for the third consecutive week and winning 19 straight games.

Pearl has been a fan favorite for quite some time on the Plains, constantly interacting with the student body and community on a daily basis. His funniest moment came during football season when he was seen shirtless hyping up the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium before playing Georgia.

During an appearance on an ESPN halftime show, Pearl revealed what his wife said to him after the viral moment. The head coach laughed while telling the story, saying she thinks it’s time to retire the bit.

“My wife Brandi has said that America has seen quite enough of that body,” Pearl said. “We’re done. America does not need to see that anymore. And so I think I am putting those guns away until I retire.”

Former national championship and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton was there as well, helping Pearl get Auburn fans excited. While the 32-year-old may have a little bit more time where taking his shirt off in public is acceptable, I am sure the Tigers would welcome them back for a similar moment next season.

Bruce Pearl provides insight on Bryan Harsin situation at Auburn

Times are weird for Auburn on the football side. Head coach Bryan Harsin may be fired, he may not. The school is still in the process of making a decision and one could come as soon as this week.

Pearl was able to provide some insight on the situation with experiences from his own coaching career. He said times during his days as an assistant coach were tough but now that he is at a big-time job, he does it out of love.

“Oh gosh, when you’re in coaching, it’s kind of like The Godfather, when Hyman Roth said, ‘This is the profession we’ve chosen.’ We chose the profession because we wanted to teach and we wanted to be around young people and make a difference in their lives,” Pearl said. “People don’t actually choose coaching or teaching for many other reasons. And then if you wind up getting good at it, maybe there’s an opportunity to coach at the higher levels and all of a sudden it becomes a financially successful, great profession.

“I chose to coach and for 45 years we didn’t live in a big house and we lived paycheck-to-paycheck because I was an assistant coach, I was a Division II coach, I was a mid-major coach. And all my college friends and all my peers, they were all able to take care of their families way better than I was financially. So we do this because we want to make a difference in young people’s lives, we want to give back, we love our campuses, and our universities and our communities, but we also understand the pressures that go with the position.”