As he left practice amid Auburn's 9-1 start in SEC play, Bruce Pearl quipped with gallows humor that is nearly as prevalent as his exuberance and showmanship.

"Just trying to keep my job," Pearl said. "I didn't think it would be this hard."

Auburn's improbable season began under a tumultuous black cloud of scrutiny and uncertainty. In the aftermath of the FBI arrest of assistant coach Chuck Person, the ineligibility of Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy for their involvement in the case, the publicizing of Pearl's refusal to meet with university officials and two support staffers being placed on administrative leave, the program was in a state of chaos off the court.

The anarchy of November, when former athletic director Jay Jacobs announced his resignation, left Auburn University president Steven Leath to handle several athletics matters unilaterally. On the job for less than six months, it wasn't an ordeal that the school's new president expected either.

Those in and around the program were uneasy, believing there was no option off the table before the season, including Pearl's termination, which would've caused staffers and players to react in turn and set off a dire string of events for a program that had made significant progress rebuilding.

In the face of a storm that would've torn apart most teams, Auburn's players kept their focus on the court and somehow were able to keep winning even as Pearl and university and athletics administrators were in a high-stakes showdown that numerous people familiar with the situation described as headed toward a nuclear option.

Yet the proverbial shoe hasn't dropped. The dust settled and Auburn went on to win a share of its first regular-season SEC championship since 1999 and earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where it will face No. 13 seed College of Charleston on Friday (6:27 p.m. CT, truTV) in San Diego.

Even as national media reporters openly speculate that Pearl's tenure in Auburn is on borrowed time, the fourth-year Tigers coach is steadfast that he'll be back next season.

"I have that confidence because we've gone through the process and it's extensive, and there's been a lot of give and take," Pearl said. "I know what I know, ok, and while I absolutely have an accountability and a responsibility there are only so many things that are within my control. I feel good having looked at everything that we've seen and am comfortable that we have a lot of really good compliance in place.

"Some mistakes were made and obviously many of them have already been dealt with. Had two great kids and terrific players that couldn't play with us all season long, lost three staff members, but those of us that are still here are in good standing otherwise we wouldn't be here."

Once Auburn's postseason run ends, whether it's Friday night or April 2 after the national championship game, Pearl's future with the program will be the question left to answer.

Auburn athletic director Allen Greene, who was in attendance for the team's NCAA Tournament watch party Sunday night and for their departure on Tuesday, hasn't spoken publicly about Pearl's future since officially taking over on Feb. 1.

Leath, who attended several games this season, has applauded the team's efforts but won't speak definitively about the future.

Pearl remains optimistic things will work out in his favor to remain in Auburn for some time.

"I think Dr. Leath and I think Allen Greene have been fair," Pearl said. "We've been in constant communication and we have not finalized everything, so therefore, we're still not in a position to talk about the future, but I can tell you right now I wouldn't be here still if there were major concerns.

"So I'm confident that when we finish the process, there will be some determinations made. But I feel good about the fact that we've patiently gotten through this to the point where we're still coaching. ... I want to be the coach here at Auburn, I do. I love it here and I want to coach here, and Dr. Leath and Allen know that. I'm confident that if there aren't major violations that I'm found to have been guilty of, I'll be back. I will be here. That's to be determined."

***

In the immediate aftermath of Person's arrest on Sept. 26, Leath told ESPN the now-former assistant coach was "an isolated individual" and that he didn't believe there was "any indication at Auburn that anybody else knew about this."

Yet something shifted Leath's mood dramatically during the ensuing six weeks. ESPN later reported, via anonymous sources, Pearl's job was in jeopardy due to his refusal to cooperate with the school's internal investigation.

The outlook inside the program during November shifted on a daily and at times hourly basis, with the futures of everyone involved hanging in the balance.

Auburn administrators interpreted an NCAA directive as a mandate to meet with the coaching staff before the season, which the coaches vehemently disagreed with, and later proved not to be accurate.

Even Leath, speaking after introducing Greene as Auburn's new athletic director on Jan. 19, conceded "the confusion has to do with timing" of when Pearl would meet with him and legal counsel.

"The NCAA has been a part of this process since early October, they've been with us almost every step of the way," Pearl said this week. "Yes, the NCAA may come back with more questions, but they've been right there with us as we've gone through this internal investigation."

It remains unclear why Auburn administrators and lawyers from Lightfoot, Franklin & White, which it retained to conduct the internal investigation, attempted to impose a deadline for the coaching staff to meet with them, but it set the stage for two months of bedlam behind the scenes.

For his part, Jacobs staunchly supported Pearl internally, but his power diminished once he announced his resignation on Nov. 3.

Tensions ratcheted up when support staffers Frankie Sullivan and Jordan VerHulst were placed on paid administrative leave days after the season-opener. Four months later, there still has been no official explanation why Sullivan and VerHulst, neither of whom have spoken publicly, were placed on leave but payroll records show they are still receiving their full salaries.

In emails sent to fans in November, Leath said Pearl's "unwillingness to even talk" was "troublesome."

Things went so far as Auburn officials reaching out to at least one sitting Power 5 head coach to gauge his interest in the potential job opening if it were to fire Pearl, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

A prominent basketball booster had T-shirts with "Team Bruce" printed and distributed them to some fans at home games beginning in late November. It was a gesture of support for the embattled coach and indignation with the administration's handling of the matter.

Pearl stayed the course, insisting there was "absolutely no reason not to trust" Leath.

Things came to a head during the weekend of the Iron Bowl, with Leath and Pearl having to pose together publicly during the unveiling of Charles Barkley's statue outside Auburn Arena.

Auburn's most prominent and outspoken basketball alum repeatedly voiced his support for Pearl and didn't want the program to suffer another setback after making so much progress under his leadership.

Whether he knew it or not, Barkley expressed not only the position of himself and many Auburn fans, but of several high-ranking people within the university, who questioned why the matter was playing out in such a public manner, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Since then Leath has been far less vocal on most athletics issues, aside from Gus Malzahn's contract extension and hiring Greene, after which he started "sooner or later" Pearl would have to talk to him.

Pearl would not comment specifically on the interviewing process either with the school or the NCAA and via a spokesman, Leath would not address whether Pearl still had yet to meet with him as of Tuesday.

"Bruce Pearl is our head coach, and he and the team are having an incredible season," Leath said in a statement to AL.com. "They have faced difficult circumstances over the previous months, and we applaud them for exemplifying the Auburn spirit through their perseverance. Coach Pearl is working with university officials as part of our due diligence. As that process is ongoing, it's not appropriate that we comment further on it at this time."

***

As he left Auburn Arena on Tuesday, Pearl couldn't help himself.

He rarely can when there are cameras around, as roughly a dozen were, and with a crowd of a few hundred adoring Tigers fans gathered to see their team off to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years, Pearl made sure to deliver another slogan.

After dozens of exchanges of "War Eagle" and fist bumps with those young and old, Pearl led the masses assembled outside in one more emphatic rendition of the battle cry before flashing two fingers in, depending on your view of Pearl, either Churchillian or Nixonian manner.

Pearl delivered his message and it was succinct.

"I just got one thing to say," Pearl said, "we are two wins away from the Sweet 16! We are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure you guys got to go to Omaha, Nebraska! War Eagle!"

That's the weekend's mission statement; an objective more in line with "V for Victory" than the celebratory sermon - can he get an Amen - Pearl delivered when Auburn cut the nets down inside the building 10 days earlier.

And with that, but not without a few dozen more high-fives, hugs and hand pounds, Pearl made his way to the bus headed towards Montgomery, where a plane awaited to take the Auburn basketball program cross-country to the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 4 seed Auburn will take on No. 13 seed College of Charleston at San Diego State's Viejas Arena on Friday and with a victory, will face the winner of No. 5 seed Clemson and No. 12 seed New Mexico State on Sunday.

Should Auburn, which has lost four of its last six games following the season-ending injury to center Anfernee McLemore, manage to put back-to-back wins together for the first time in over a month, it will earn a trip to the Sweet 16.

Beyond that - let's not write the Tigers in Sharpie too far ahead of themselves.

Whether the season brought calm because it was the eye of the storm or if there is truly daylight on the horizon for Pearl and Auburn basketball is still to be seen.

James Crepea is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @JamesCrepea.