Longhorns Country

Texas Ex Chris Beard Emerging As Top Coaching Target For Arch Rival

Former Texas coach Chris Beard could reportedly be on the move once again.
Matt Galatzan|
Texas Longhorns head coach Chris Beard reacts during the second half against the Creighton Bluejays
Texas Longhorns head coach Chris Beard reacts during the second half against the Creighton Bluejays | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

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A new candidate is emerging in College Station to replace Buzz Williams with the Texas A&M Aggies.

And for Texas Longhorns fans, it would be a very familiar face.

According to reports from college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, former Longhorns head coach, and current Ole Miss coach Chris Beard has emerged as a primary target in their search to replace Williams, who accepted the job in Maryland on Tuesday.

"Ole Miss coach Chris Beard will be one of the primary candidates for the Texas A&M opening, source told the Field of 68," Goodman said. "Will be interesting to see whether Beard would rather stay in Oxford or head to College Station."

Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard in the first half of a South Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament
Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard in the first half of a South Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Beard was fired by Texas on Jan. 5 after third-degree felony assault charges loomed over his head. However, those charges were eventually dropped. Regardless, Longhorns' decision-makers were uncomfortable with the idea of him returning to Austin.

At the time of his firing, Beard was in his second season as the head coach of the Longhorns, had led Texas to a 29-13 record, and was sitting at 7-1 overall and ranked as the No. 6 team in the country.

Beard first became a head coach at McMurry University in 2012, and has also had stops at Angelo State, Arkansas Little Rock, and Texas Tech, compiling a  280–121 overall record in his head coaching career.

He is also 12-6 in NCAA tournaments and helped Texas Tech reach a final four and national title game in 2019. He also took Ole Miss to the Sweet 16 this past season and is 44-24 in Oxford.

If he does indeed make it to Aggieland, Beard's abilities as a tenacious recruiter, both on the trail and in the transfer portal, and a brilliant defensive tactician could potentially help the Aggies turn things around in a hurry as he did for the Longhorns in Austin.

Oh, and he might have a chance to stick it to his former team in Austin for firing him despite being legally cleared.

And at the very least, that would be a tempting opportunity.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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