Chris Beard plans to build trust within the Ole Miss program he took over in March one step at a time.
Whether Beard can gain footing with the public is a separate matter, but the former Texas and Texas Tech coach said Wednesday he sees only one way to establish a foundation in his latest program.
“Yeah, one way: the truth. Just talk about the truth,” Beard said at SEC Media Days. “Not only what’s happened last couple months, what’s happened in my whole career.
“I also think as human beings, coaches, players, we all go through adversity, we all go through tough times. I always thought that’s an opportunity to respond. … It’s what we try to do in our program. We try to learn, we try to get better every day, and we tell the truth.”
The one-time Bob Knight assistant who took Texas Tech to the Final Four and championship game in 2019, was fired in his second season at Texas following an arrest for felony assault on a family member. Beard’s fiancee, Randi Trew, identified herself as the alleged victim and later told police no assault took place, describing Beard’s actions as using “self-defense.”
Ole Miss AD Keith Carter said in March when Beard was hired that Beard rose to the top of his list as a “proven program builder” and that the school conducted “due diligence and speaking to a number of individuals on and off the court.”
Beard won 22 games in his first season at Texas and has 70 total wins in the first season of his last three coaching jobs. He said he has been well received in Oxford and believes trust with his current team will be established in due time using reliability and dependability as a bridge.
“Do what you say you’re going to do. Do it every day,” Beard said. “Have discipline about what’s expected of you and the organization.
“A lot of it comes down to just discipline to me. With relationships, it’s all about doing what you say you’re going to do, repeatedly. When things are good, stay steady, stay humble. When things are tough, there’s going to be a lot of adversity, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. When things get tough, be who you are, don’t change.”
The Rebels finished 12-21 last season (3-15 in the SEC) under the direction of Kermit Davis and interim coach Win Case.
–Field Level Media