In 1996, Pearson was a candidate for the head coaching position at Michigan Tech, but his former teammate Tim Watters was appointed instead. Later that year, Jeff Jackson named Pearson one of his assistant coaches for the US men's national junior ice hockey team that competed in the 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The team lost the championship game to Canada, but its second place finish was its best in the event until it won the championship in 2004. Pearson interviewed for and was offered the head coaching position at Miami University in 1999, but he turned down the job that later went to Enrico Blasi. His decision to stay at Michigan was quickly followed by a raise and promotion to associate head coach. "We're doing it to recognize [his] loyalty to the program", Berenson said. The following year Pearson received the Terry Flanagan Award, which recognizes an assistant coach's career body of work, from the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). When asked in 2007 why he had stayed at Michigan for so long, Pearson said, "[Berenson] gives us a lot of responsibility. He lets us be hands-on. And, you have a chance to win every year. I don't have an ego where I need to be a head coach." After Michigan's loss to Minnesota–Duluth in the 2011 National Championship game, however, Michigan Tech pursued Pearson for its vacant head coaching position.