Making Case for Chris Beard with Razorbacks as Coaching Search Heats Up

Beard has already shown in Arkansas he can get players and develop them into winners as he did in Little Rock

Ole Miss Rebels guard Jaylen Murray (5) and coach Chris Beard at a game in The Pavilion in Oxford, Miss. / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Say what you will about incidents Chris Beard may have been involved in off the court, he wins a lot and that’s the bottom line in college athletics. 

There are plenty of reasons for a move from Ole Miss to Arkansas with Fayetteville being one of the best towns to live in around the SEC. The Razorbacks job is one of the best in the conference and has plenty of instate talent to build a good team round with each recruiting cycle.

Thursday evening, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 named Beard as Arkansas’ leading candidate. Here’s three reasons why the potential hire just makes sense for the two parties. 

Wins Everywhere 

Since venturing into coaching, Beard has taken his teams to the NCAA Tournament in seven of his ten full seasons as a head coach. Before becoming a head coach at the division one level, he spent ten seasons on the sideline as an assistant under the legendary Bob Knight and son Pat. 

During that run, the Red Raiders went to four NCAA Tournaments and one trip to the final four of the National Invitational Tournament. After floating around smaller schools in Texas, Beard took a job with Angelo State and went 47-15 in two seasons before jumping to the mid-major level with Little Rock. 

Of course, he took the Trojans to heights not seen in program history with 30 wins and an upset of fifth-seeded Purdue during the 2015 NCAA Tournament. It was Little Rock’s first trip to the second round since 1985. He earned Sun Belt Conference coach of the year for his teams performance.

After his success in Little Rock, Beard signed with UNLV but after two weeks, he up and left the Rebels for Texas Tech. He replaced Tubby Smith who left for Memphis and quickly turned the Red Raiders program around by year two.

During Beard’s third season in Lubbock, the Red Raiders were one of the best teams in school history and nationally. With a 26-5 overall record and 14-4 finish in conference play, Texas Tech won its first ever Big 12 Conference championship, its first conference title since the 1996 season in the defunct Southwest Conference. Beard led his team to its first national title appearance after a 61-51 victory over Michigan State. They would go onto lose in a hotly contested overtime battle against Virginia, 85-77.

After such a successful season, Texas Tech ponied up to Beard’s carriage and made him the third-highest paid coach in college basketball at $4.5 million per season. 

Familiar Territory

A move to Arkansas would allow Beard chances to enjoy the Natural State again like he did a near decade ago. In an exchange during the SEC Media Days in October, Beard had an entertaining discussion with Bob Holt about the best places to eat in Arkansas. Of course, the places listed were all centrally located in Little Rock.

“Let’s talk about Arkansas, what’s your favorite restaurant in downtown Little Rock,” Beard asked of Holt.

“Flying Fish in downtown is great,” Holt replied

I like Cache,” Beard said. “I can’t remember the name but it’s on the River. Can tell you exactly how to get there. Parking is an issue but the burger is good.” 

If Beard is looking for food, Fayetteville does have quite a few eateries with plenty of pallet pleasing delicacies. Wright’s, CJ’s, Damn Good Pies, Catfish Hole, Arthur’s, Sassy’s, JJ’s, Hugos and more.

Plus, he gets to move a little closer to home with Arkansas bordering his sweet home of Texas. With all the coaching connections in the Lone Star State, it should help keep Arkansas near the top in the SEC.

Solid Recruiter

Should Beard ultimately take the position, he will have an opportunity to capitalize on the strong recruiting grounds the state of Arkansas has to offer. He also has the chops to pull any transfer he wants out of the portal. His strong track record of winning with great fundamentals, solid offensive playcalling and airtight defense makes Beard’s system attractive to players around the country.

He does have a track record of recruiting the state of Arkansas well. He signed 4-star Rashaud Marshall out of Blytheville during the latest recruiting cycle. The Rebels also signed the No. 9 transfer class last season with four 4-star transfers.

While at Texas, his last recruiting class ranked No. 3 in the nation by 247sports. The Longhorns signed a pair of 5-stars in Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris. Beard also helped sign a pair of high level transfers in Sir’Jabari Rice and Tyrese Hunter. 

During his time at Texas Tech, his final recruiting class finished at No. 11 in the country. That included a transfer group ranked No. 3 headlined by the highflying Mac McClung. The 2019 class ranked No. 16 with the top ranked transfer group and included future college star Terrance Shannon, Jr. Kevin McCuller (now at Kansas) and Russel Tchewa (Georgia) were also members of the squad. 

With that being said, Arkansas now sits in a greater position for success due to the five year tenure of Eric Musselman. The Razorbacks went 111-59 since the 2019-2020 season which is second in the SEC behind Alabama and Nate Oats. Perks like a huge arena, loyal fanbase, elite facilities and a committed NIL budget should make the Razorbacks basketball job one of the most desirable in this coaching carousel. 

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