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As the Ole Miss men’s basketball team closed out a forgettable season on Thursday afternoon, it appears that the Rebels have the man they want to take them in a new direction starting next season.
According to multiple reports, the school is close to naming former Texas head coach Chris Beard as its new coach. Indications are an introductory press conference could happen as soon as Monday.
Ole Miss is close to naming former Texas head coach Chris Beard as its new head coach, per sources and multiple reports.
Per sources, an official press conference could come as soon as Monday. #OleMiss
— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) March 9, 2023
Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter’s nationwide search for the successor to Kermit Davis appears to have led him to Beard, who has an impressive 237-98 overall record during his coaching career but also a checkered past. The 50-year-old Beard was fired by Texas after domestic violence charges were levied against him in December.
Texas fired Beard on Jan. 5, finishing his short stay in Austin when Beard went 29-13. The charges against Beard were dropped last month by the Travis County district attorney.
Beard would replace Davis, who went 74-79 during his 5-year run in Oxford. The Rebels were just 10-18 overall and 2-13 in the SEC when Davis was fired on Feb. 24.
The 13th-seeded Rebels were eliminated in the 2nd round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Nashville, falling to Tennessee, 70-55, to finish the season at 12-21.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
