Philip Pearson didn't know what to do.
Should he hold meetings?
Take the afternoon off?
Stay with his boss?
There is no obvious "next move" for an assistant launched into the head coaching position once his boss is abruptly forced to resign. Consequently, Pearson debated how to spend the day. But he eventually settled on getting in the gym, huddling the Alabama players and practicing, and once it was over he was glad he did.
Pearson spoke with CBSSports.com by phone while having dinner at a local deli Monday night, just hours after being tabbed to replace Mark Gottfried on an interim basis. Pearson said it had obviously been a long and tough day, but that Gottfried was handling everything OK. He added that he planned to finish dinner and head back to campus, where he was going to meet with the players individually and continue to prepare them for Thursday's game at Arkansas.
"They practiced really hard," Pearson said. "I was happy to see that."
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