Louisville reportedly reaches out to Bruce Pearl

Could we see Bruce Pearl on the Louisville sideline? If the Cards have their way, maybe so. Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson is reporting that Louisville has reached out to Pearl. Yesterday afternoon, the school officially parted ways with Chris Mack after three-and-a-half seasons.

“Sources tell Auburn Live that Louisville has already made it known to Pearl’s camp that the Auburn head coach is a wanted man,” Hokason wrote. “There’s no question about it.”

This morning, Pearl made an appearance on “Keyshawn, JWill & Max” on ESPN to discuss his No. 1 Tigers. Inevitably, the topic of the Louisville job came up. Jay Williams asked Pearl if the idea of coaching at a “basketball school” like Louisville appeals to him after coaching at a “football school” like Auburn for so many years. (Pearl is in his eighth season on The Plains.)

“JWill, I was at a basketball school. I was at Tennessee. It was a women’s basketball school but it was a basketball school so, you know, it’s — listen, when you win, folks are worried you’re going to leave and when you losing, they’re packing your bags. We’re either coming or going, coaches are at least.

“Auburn is a fabulous place and it’s been the best place, Jay, 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 a half from Atlanta and as you know, there are a lot of good players in Atlanta.”

So, not a no.

Ball in Auburn’s court

It’s easy to see why the Louisville job would appeal to Pearl. Not only is it a basketball school, it’s got a great tradition and top-notch facilities (once they get the Yum Center roof fixed) in a city that’s not in the middle of rural Alabama. There’s also the draw of going toe-to-toe with John Calipari each season in arguably the best rivalry in college basketball. That may be enough to overlook looming NCAA punishments.

With fans and boosters clamoring for a big hire, the Cards will likely open the pocketbook wide. ESPN reports that Louisville and Mack negotiated a $4.8 million settlement, down from his original buyout of $12 million. Currently, Pearl makes around $4 million per year at Auburn, less than Rick Barnes at Tennessee and Chris Beard at Texas. If the Tigers want to keep him, they’re going to need to up the ante and give him the practice facility he’s been asking for. If anything, Louisville’s interest may have just fast-tracked that.

Either way, something to keep an eye on. You can hear Pearl’s comments on ESPN Radio about the Louisville job here around the 27-minute mark.