Bruce Pearl Uses Memphis Interest for a Nice Bump From Tennessee

Nothing like the threat of having a bitter in-state rival possibly poaching your coach to force another contract extension, even after a somewhat disappointing season. Memphis was hoping to land Bruce Pearl from Tennessee, with a whopping seven-year, $21 million contract according to some reports.

Memphis was reportedly looking to make a big splash after losing John Calipari to Kentucky. Rick Pitino was not going to be walking through that door. Neither was Tim Floyd coming from USC -- despite apparently listening. Bruce Pearl may or may not have been interested, but Tennessee was not going to let Pearl even appear to be considering an offer from Memphis.

The Tennessee athletic department issued a statement announcing the new deal for Pearl, with details of the renegotiated six-year deal coming soon. The press release came complete with statements from Pearl announcing his fealty to the Volunteers.

"I want to ensure the University of Tennessee and its fans that I'm 100 percent committed to this school, this program and our student-athletes.

"I truly love my job, and I want it to be clear that I'm not interested in any other job. There's no place in the country I'd rather be than the University of Tennessee. My children are happy here in the Knoxville community--one is in high school, one is in middle school and two are currently attending the university.

"My staff and I are building a consistent top-25 program and I'm honored and privileged to serve the greatest fans in the country. Tennessee has all the resources necessary to win championships, from our recently upgraded facilities to our ability to schedule.

"It's great to be a Tennessee Vol!"

It really is great. Especially when the salary keeps rising to stay one. Last year, Pearl got an extension that raised his average salary over the life of the contract to around $2.3 million.

Not bad after a season where the Volunteers were picked to be a preseason top-15 team, struggled in a very weak SEC, and were bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed.