The Ole Miss Rebels have announced that they have hired former Texas Longhorns Head Coach Chris Beard as their next Head Coach. While the move comes with controversy, it is hard to deny the talent that Beard has as a Head Coach. Beard was fired by the Texas Longhorns after being arrested and accused of domestic violence. Those charges were later dropped after Beard’s fiancee retracted her statement. Ole Miss fired Head Coach Kermit Davis during the season and got linked to Beard fairly quickly after they began their search.
Chris Beard Named Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Ole Miss#HottyToddy | https://t.co/qvOODULsdN pic.twitter.com/MxMF17PIcS
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 13, 2023
As the Head Coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Texas Longhorns, Chris Beard led the programs to an overall record of 141-68 and a Big 12 record of 59-48. Beard turned the Red Raiders around and even got them to a National Championship game. It appeared in his second year with the Longhorns he was building the program into a long-term National Championship contender. His ability to coach is also matched by his ability to recruit five-star and transfer talent.
The Ole Miss Rebels are looking to become more competitive in the SEC which has added several talented coaches in the past few seasons. While adding Chris Beard does come with baggage, it is hard to deny that from a basketball sense this should make the program much better over the next few seasons. With several other programs needing a Head Coach, the NCAA coaching carousel will continue into the offseason.
