Bruce Pearl, family ready for emotional return to Tennessee

South Carolina vs. Auburn Basketball

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates a 71-68 victory over South Carolina Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

(JULIE BENNETT)

Bruce Pearl screams, sweats and even bleeds on the sideline.

On Saturday, he might cry.

The Auburn coach returns to Knoxville for what should prove to be an emotional reunion with Tennessee fans less than four years after administrators fired him following an NCAA investigation. Tipoff Saturday between the Tigers and Volunteers is set for 11 a.m.

"I don't know that I'm Dick Vermeil but I've got a little Dick Vermeil in me and I just can't help it," Pearl said, referring to the former NFL coach's penchant for the dramatic. "I'm sure before the game it'll be hard."

Thompson-Boling Arena is where Pearl rebuilt the Volunteers into a national contender with six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including the school's first and only trip to the Elite Eight. It's also where he raised more than $1 million for charities, coached his son Steven, watched his children graduate high school and college, and spent countless hours preparing for and coaching games. In those six years Pearl produced a 145-61 record, three Sweet 16 appearances and an SEC title.

"Coaching, particularly for me, I am not very talented," Pearl said. "I've got to make up for that with work ethic and with a lot of hours. You're in Auburn Arena a lot, you're in Thompson-Boling Arena a lot and you're in the building at times when nobody else is in the building."

Pearl will be one of roughly 20,000 people inside Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, but all eyes will be on him as he steps on the court named after friend and Tennessee legend Pat Summitt.

Feelings will certainly be mixed for Pearl, his family and assistant coach Tony Jones, who stood beside him during his Tennessee tenure. Pearl, for the most part, has put the past in the rear-view mirror.

But he does have regrets. "The way it ended," he said, "but no other regrets."

That regret, of course, is the result of him lying to the NCAA during an investigation into a recruiting violation at his home. His mistake ultimately forced Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek and athletics director Mike Hamilton to fire him and end the most successful run in Volunteers history. A three-year penalty levied by the NCAA kept him out of the college circuit, but Auburn took a chance and hired him with a few months remaining in his NCAA sentence.

In an interesting twist of fate, fans happy with Pearl's arrival at Auburn should thank one of the men responsible for firing him at Tennessee. Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs sought Hamilton's opinion on Pearl in the spring of 2014 as one level of vetting. Hamilton and Pearl talked, too, about the positives and negatives of coaching the Tigers, a program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament in 11 years. "I do want him to succeed," Hamilton said. In the end, Hamilton told Jacobs to hire the man.

Pearl and Hamilton still talk every few weeks, and their respect is mutual. Hamilton stepped down from his post in June 2011 and now lives in Nashville, where he recently was hired as the executive director for Show Hope, a nonprofit organization helping orphans in distress. Pearl invited him to the Tigers' SEC opener at Vanderbilt and the former Tennessee boss hopes to attend the SEC Tournament and cheer for the coach.

"I think, like everyone, we wished that the final outcome was not what we had to end up doing, but I think he understood," Hamilton said. "That's what makes the relationship what it is now. He understood on some level that was where we had to go because of what happened."

Pearl said Hamilton "did everything to save me and tried to save me" during his final days at Tennessee. The pressure -- and the lies -- were too much to overcome, however.

Pearl got his second chance three years later at Auburn with some help from Hamilton.

"I'm working every day to reward Jay Jacobs for the decision he made to bring me here," Pearl said. "I worked every day to reward Mike Hamilton for the decision he made to bring me to Tennessee and for many years Mike benefited from my hiring. But I contributed to Mike being fired and the mistakes I made put Mike and his family in a really bad situation. Tennessee chose to fire me long after I admitted to making the mistakes. They chose to fire Mike also. I accept some responsibility for the good, the bad and the ugly."

The years following Pearl's departure at Tennessee were messy, too. Pearl's shadow has hovered over the program. Cuonzo Martin led the Volunteers back to the NCAA Tournament in 2014, but bolted for California in the offseason. Donnie Tyndall took over after a successful stint at Southern Miss, but his future at Tennessee is uncertain as the NCAA investigates violations that allegedly occurred during his tenure at the Conference USA school.

Not everyone has dealt with the changes well. Nearly 40,000 people signed a petition encouraging Tennessee's administration to fire Martin and bring back Pearl late last season. Steven Pearl, a backup forward under his father for four years at Tennessee, hosted a radio show in Knoxville during the outcry.

"I deflected it as much as possible, because I thought Cuonzo was doing a good job. That wasn't fair to him," said Steven, who now serves as Auburn's assistant strength and conditioning coach.

The past is sure to be at the forefront Saturday when Pearl's black-and-gray hair pops out of one of the tunnels at Thompson-Boling Arena, where he sweat through suits, won games and even went shirtless to support the Lady Vols. Cheers are expected and tears could be shed.

"He has earned at least an ovation for bringing Tennessee back, but at the same time he's not our coach," said Jordan Howell, an Auburn native and former guard under Pearl at Tennessee. "Donnie Tyndall is our guy and everybody should give coach Pearl the respect but focus on Donnie and Tennessee."

Mixed in the crowd will be Pearl's family: his youngest son, two daughters and his wife, Brandy. For a moment it might resemble any other game day for the Pearl family in Tennessee. The only difference is Jacqui, a fixture on the court during her father's tenure in Knoxville, will not be on the court singing the national anthem.

Admittedly, Steven said, it's hard not to look back and dream of hypothetical situations. Where would Pearl and Tennessee be today if he had not lied to the NCAA? Tennessee's basketball program would certainly be different.

"I think we were headed toward an opportunity to be a Final Four contender," said Hamilton, "and maybe win a national championship."

Pearl says he was offered jobs "nearly every year" during his days at Tennessee, but he had no desire to leave. He was there for the long haul.

"That's history. It's history. We had a great run," Pearl said. "People also ask the question: did you want to go back to Tennessee? No, I do not want to go back to Tennessee. We had our run and the leadership there that fired me is still there. I gave them reason and so I can understand why. They made it clear I wasn't an option, and I really wouldn't want to go back."

Pearl's No. 1 goal now is to become one of a handful of coaches to take two SEC programs to the NCAA Tournament. He has work to do to get the Tigers there in the next few years, but a top-15 recruiting class is on the way to buoy the roster. Hamilton believes success will soon follow.

Pearl also doesn't want to leave the Plains, where he is again surrounded by family as he spends countless hours at Auburn Arena attempting to inject life into an SEC bottom feeder.

"I dig in," Pearl said. "For better or worse this is where I want to be. Right here."