Chris Beard a Top Candidate for Ole Miss Job, per Report

Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is a survivor of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or at https://www.thehotline.org/

Former Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard has emerged as a “top candidate” to fill the Ole Miss coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello report Wednesday.

Beard and the SEC program have been in contact, per ESPN, and Ole Miss officials have reportedly begun doing due diligence on the former Longhorns coach. 

Beard was fired by Texas in January after he was arrested Dec. 12 and charged with third-degree felony assault on a family/household member—later revealed to be Beard’s fiancé, Randi Trew. ESPN reported at the time the arrest was made after Austin police responded to a “disturbance hotshot” call at Beard’s home shortly after midnight. Disturbance hotshot incidents are “incidents in progress that are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety.” Beard’s felony charge included “impeding breath circulation.”

Trew later said there was no assault and that Beard was just using “self-defense” in a “physical struggle” between the couple. In February, Travis County district attorney Jose Garza dropped the charges against Beard.

“I am pleased with the announcement that the charges against me have been dismissed,” Beard said in a statement at the time. “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. I’m sorry and deeply remorseful to my family, friends, all my players and staff both most recent and past, and everyone at my alma mater The University of Texas.”

Beard was in the early stages of his second season at Texas at the time of his dismissal. He joined the Longhorns in 2021 after leading Big 12 rival Texas Tech to the national championship game in ’19. Since the ’15–16 season, Beard has coached three different programs to the NCAA tournament.

Ole Miss is on the search for a new coach after firing Kermit Davis last month. Davis left the program with a 74–79 record and a 32–55 mark in SEC play in five seasons at the helm.

Win Case is currently serving as the interim coach of the Rebels, who finished the regular season 11–20 and 3–15 in the SEC.