There may not be a single name in College Sports in Texas that drags up more negative images, especially here in Lubbock, than Chris Beard.

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Even after his successful run as Texas Tech Men’s Basketball coach, Beard did everything he could to alienate West Texas when he grabbed his carpetbag and shuffled off to Austin, where he subsequently became even MO vilified after his arrest for domestic violence.

While he may not be facing serious charges anymore in that case, that incident carries a stigma that would stain most people and impact their lives negatively forever.

But maybe not in this case.

Yep, Chris Beard’s name is once again being tossed around as a potential head coach, this time at Ole Miss.

Beard would potentially replace former Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis, who guided the Rebels to a stellar 2-13 mark in the SEC this year.  Before Beard was fired for (allegedly) going all Undertaker-ish on his girlfriend, he had the Texas Longhorns riding high at 7-1, and a #6 national ranking.

According to a story from SI.com, Beard is being “extensively vetted” by the University of Mississippi to be their next head basketball coach, which usually means that he’s the guy. You don’t “extensively vet” someone you aren’t going to hire.  All things being equal, that begs the question:

“Does Chris Beard deserve a second chance?”

You ask that question in Lubbock, and more than likely the responses will range from “No”, to “F--- No.” Which, impassioned as it may be, is not correct.  Even though this story will probably never fully go away, Beard has not been convicted of a crime, and is free to work anywhere that will hire him. Even if he WAS convicted, once he served his sentence, he should be allowed to earn a living in his chosen field.

Sure, hiring Beard could be a public relations nightmare…at first. But success has a way of righting wrongs and erasing the past, and if he does well, this ugly experience could be quickly forgotten.

However, we’ll still probably never forgive Beard for leaving Lubbock the way he did…can you blame us?

 

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