The University of Mississippi has met with former Texas coach Chris Beard and is in the process of vetting him to potentially be the next head coach of its men's basketball program, sources confirmed to CBS Sports.
Beard is considered a leading candidate for the job as of Wednesday afternoon, but one source stressed there are significant hurdles, some of them legal, that still need to be cleared in order for Beard to be offered the job.
Beard was fired from Texas in January after he was arrested in December on a felony domestic violence charge. The charge was dropped in February when the Travis County District Attorney's Office in Austin, Texas, determined the felony charge against Beard could not be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt." Beard's fiancée, Randi Trew, called 911 in the early hours of Dec. 12. She alleged Beard strangled her, scratched and bit her. Officers observed visible signs of distress on her person and documented that in the police report. Trew withdrew some of her allegations 11 days later, on Dec. 23, and stated she was the initiator of the incident.
Ole Miss plays South Carolina on Wednesday night in the first round of the SEC Tournament. It fired its coach, Kermit Davis, on Feb. 24. ESPN first reported the news of Beard's candidacy at Ole Miss.
Beard, 50, is 237-98 in his career at the Division I level. Prior to taking the Texas job in 2021, he led Texas Tech for five seasons, most notably losing in the 2019 national championship game to Virginia.
