Longhorns Coach Rodney Terry Discusses 'Difficult Day' in Wake of Chris Beard Suspension

Texas Longhorns acting head coach Rodney Terry shared some brief thoughts on Chris Beard following Monday's overtime win over the Rice Owls.

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns associate head coach Rodney Terry is a veteran of the game. There's few things he hasn't seen.

But the sudden arrest and subsequent suspension of Texas coach Chris Beard on Monday was obviously something Terry didn't see coming.

"You're not prepared for anything like this," Terry said.

His preparation for Monday night's game at the Moody Center against the Rice Owls -- which ended in a thrilling 87-81 overtime win for No. 7 Texas -- was made even more difficult considering he wasn't told he'd be the team's acting head coach until shoot-around.

"From the time I woke up this morning it was something we were having to deal with," Terry said. "It wasn't until shoot-around that a decision was made that I was gonna be the one to lead our guys tonight."

Terry said that University of Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte told him the official news.

And while Terry prefaced his post-game comments with the clarification that he wouldn't be discussing the matter, he still managed to provide some small details on his perspective of the situation.

"I love Beard like my own brother," he said. " ... I have not had any contact in that regard to coach, we were just trying to rally around our guys today."

The foreseeable future remains cloudy for the Longhorns and Terry. He appears to be the unofficial favorite to close out the season as head coach if Beard does not return from his indefinite suspension. But with all the news still so fresh, the plans for the future remain up in the air.

"We've had a unique day, a very difficult day," Terry said. "We haven't really spoken much about moving forward and things moving forward in the future."

The Longhorns will some much-needed mental and physical rest before taking on the Stanford Cardinal in Dallas on Sunday.

---

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

Want to see the Horns in action? Get your Texas Longhorns game tickets from SI Tickets here!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Longhorns? Click Here to Subscribe to the Longhorns Country Newsletter

Want even more Texas Longhorns? Check out the SI.com team page here

Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook.

Make sure to subscribe to the Longhorns Country Podcast today! Click here To Listen.