Ole Miss is expected to announce the hiring of Chris Beard as its next coach early this week, ESPN reported Monday.
Per the report, the two sides were finalizing an agreement to bring the former Texas coach to Oxford, Miss.
Last week, ESPN reported that Ole Miss officials were doing their “due diligence” on Beard, who was fired by Texas on Jan. 5 after an alleged domestic violence incident was reported in December. He was initially suspended indefinitely without pay, but in a letter to Beard’s attorney regarding his termination, a Texas official called Beard “unfit” to lead the Longhorns.
Charges were dropped against Beard, 50, on Feb. 15.
The Ole Miss job came open when Kermit Davis was fired on Feb. 24.
Beard went 112-55 in five seasons as head coach at Texas Tech before being hired away by Texas, his alma mater. He led the 2018-19 Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament title game, falling to Virginia 85-77 in overtime.
At Texas, Beard went 29-13 in parts of two seasons. The Longhorns were 7-1 this season before Beard was suspended.
Under interim coach Rodney Terry, the Longhorns finished the season 26-8 and are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will face Colgate on Thursday in Midwest Region play.
Ole Miss finished the season 12-21 with a 3-15 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
–Field Level Media