The college basketball coaching carousel never fails to produce a few eyebrow-raising moments, and on Thursday morning, one such moment occurred when the University of Texas hired its replacement for Shaka Smart. The Longhorns didn’t just turn to another Big 12 school for its next coach, they stayed within the Lone Star State and convinced Texas Tech’s Chris Beard to pack his bags and head to Austin.
The news was broken by Jeff Goodman of Stadium before getting confirmed by a number of other college hoops insiders.
BREAKING: Texas is hiring Texas Tech coach Chris Beard, source told @Stadium.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 1, 2021
Texas is hiring Chris Beard, source confirms to @CBSSports.@GoodmanHoops first.
Huge news. Whirlwind day.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 1, 2021
Texas is hiring Texas Tech's Chris Beard as its next head coach, sources confirm to ESPN. Buyout dropped to $4 million this morning. @GoodmanHoops first.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 1, 2021
According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Beard has been the guy that Texas decision-makers have wanted from the beginning.
Texas prioritized Chris Beard long before the job came opened, according to sources.
When Shaka Smart left for Marquette he was the top option.
Beard’s buyout dropped $1 million today, April 1. This was the anticipated day a moved was expected to happen.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 1, 2021
A longtime assistant under Bobby Knight at Texas Tech, Beard has quickly become one of the most highly-regarded coaches in college basketball. He bounced around the semi-pro and lower-level college ranks before taking over at Little Rock in 2015. Following one year in which he led the Trojans to 30 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth, Beard took over in Lubbock, where he’s turned the Red Raiders into a consistently very good program. The team made the Elite 8 in 2018, and one year later, they were mere moments away from winning a national championship before getting upended in overtime by the Virginia Cavaliers.
Beard has accrued a 208-84 record in his collegiate coaching career. The Texas job opened up last month when Smart left to take over Marquette.
