Paul Finebaum evaluates where Bruce Pearl stands among all-time Auburn coaches

Bruce Pearl has cemented himself as one of, if not the greatest Auburn basketball coach of all time. He now has the most wins in program history, took the Tigers to its first Final Four in 2019, and has his team in position to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament this season.

Joining Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on their morning radio show, Paul Finebaum revealed where the Tigers men’s basketball coach stands against the all-time Auburn greats in all sports, including its storied football program.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find very many,” Finebaum said. “I mean, certainly Pat Dye and [Ralph] Shug Jordan are always at the top of the list. But, I think they would all be — I mean, if Mount Rushmore has four people on it, I think there’s room for Bruce Pearl on Auburn’s Mount Rushmore.”

Dye won 99 games as head coach of the Tigers football program, winning four SEC Championships along the way (1983, 1987, 1988, 1989). He was the fourth coach in SEC history at the time to win three consecutive conference championships.

For Jordan, he serves as the football and men’s basketball coach at the same time during his tenure. He was the football coach from 1951-1975 and coached basketball across two stints from 1933-1942. After World War II, he came back to coach the basketball team from 1945-46. Before 2010, he was responsible for winning the Tigers’ first-ever national championship, which came in 1957.

For their efforts leading the program, Auburn’s home turf is called Pat Dye Field, while Shug Jordan is one-half of the namesake of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Whether Bruce Pearl is ever given a similar honor remains to be seen. However, given that he’s the most successful coach in the men’s basketball program’s history, and appears to be far from finished in Auburn, it’s not farfetched to believe the program will provide a similar tribute after his retirement.

Pearl isn’t done making history, either. His squad most recently defeated No. 17 Kentucky inside Rupp Arena for Auburn’s first win in Lexington since 1988. The win improved Auburn to 27-2 overall, and 15-1 in SEC play — the team’s best start to conference competition in program history.

Having already locked up the SEC regular season championship, the Tigers are set to travel to No. 22 Texas A&M for a Tuesday night matchup in College Station. They will round out their regular season at home against No. 7 Alabama.