By ADAM ZAGORIA
Ole Miss athletic director Kevin Carter met Monday with ex-Texas coach Chris Beard, a source confirmed.
The school has been vetting Beard while also considering other options, including FAU coach Dusty May and former LSU coach Will Wade, sources said.
Ole Miss AD Keith Carter met today with Chris Beard, source confirms
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 6, 2023
First by @OMSpiritOn3 https://t.co/WvqDnoilaZ
In January, Texas fired Beard, 49, after he was arrested in December on felony assault charges resulting from a domestic violence incident with his fiancee, Randi Trew. He was in the second year of a seven-year deal worth more than $5 million annually.
The charge was later dropped.
“I am pleased with the announcement that the charges against me have been dismissed,” Beard said in a statement last month. “While I always had faith and confidence in the truth and this outcome, it has been extremely challenging to wait patiently and not publicly respond.”
While hiring Beard could be risky from a PR-standpoint, he’s clearly an excellent coach.
Beard is 237-98 in his coaching career which has included stops at Texas Tech and Texas. He led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA championship game.
If Ole Miss were to hire Beard, he would coach against Texas in the SEC beginning in 2024 when the Longhorns and Oklahoma join the conference.
Meantime, Texas Tech has suspended coach Mark Adams for what the school is calling an “inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment.”
“Adams was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters,” the school said. “Adams immediately addressed this with the team and apologized.”
North Texas coach Grant McCasland is a serious contender to replace Adams if the school fires him, a source said.
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