Embattled coach Chris Beard met with Ole Miss on Monday to discuss the school’s coaching vacancy, OM Spirit and other outlets reported.
The Rebels fired Kermit Davis as coach on Feb. 24. Ole Miss is 11-20 overall and 3-15 in conference play entering this week’s Southeastern Conference tournament.
Beard was fired by Texas on Jan. 5 after an alleged domestic violence incident 3 1/2 weeks earlier. He was initially suspended indefinitely without pay.
Charges were dropped against Beard on Feb. 15.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said at the time that “our office has determined that the felony offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Beard was arrested on Dec. 12, 2022, and charged with assault by strangulation/suffocation — family violence.
Police said the call came from Beard’s live-in fiancee. She later told police that Beard didn’t attempt to strangle her and that “it was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted.”
Beard went 112-55 in five seasons as head coach at Texas Tech before being hired away by Texas, his alma mater. He led the 2018-19 Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament title game, falling to Virginia 85-77 in overtime.
At Texas, Beard went 29-13 in parts of two seasons. The Longhorns were 7-1 this season before Beard was suspended.
Interestingly, Mark Adams, who replaced Beard as Texas Tech’s coach, was suspended by that school on Sunday due to what Texas Tech called a racially insensitive comment to a player.
Davis was 10-18 this season when fired by Ole Miss. He went 74-79 overall in five seasons at the school.
–Field Level Media
