Chris Beard ‘agrees to coach at Ole Miss’ two months after being fired over domestic violence claims

Former Texas Longhorns men’s basketball coach Chris Beard has reportedly accepted a position to coach at Ole Miss three months after being arrested over domestic abuse claims that led to his dismissal in Austin. 

Stadium’s Jeff Goodman is reporting that Mississippi will hire Beard within the next 24 to 48 hours.    

Beard was fired by Texas on January 5 after an alleged domestic violence incident was reported in December. He was initially suspended indefinitely without pay.

Charges were dropped against Beard on February 15.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said at the time that ‘our office has determined that the felony offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.’

Chris Beard was fired by Texas on January 5 after an alleged domestic violence incident was reported in December. He was initially suspended indefinitely without pay. Charges were dropped against Beard on February 15

Jayveous McKinnis #00 of the Ole Miss Rebels grabs a rebound against the Tennessee Volunteers during the 2023 SEC Basketball Tournament on March 09, 2023 in Nashville

Ole Miss fired basketball coach Kermit Davis in late February en route to a 12-21 season. 

‘We thank Coach Davis for his dedication to the Ole Miss basketball program and our student-athletes,’ athletic director Keith Carter said in a statement. ‘No one wanted to bring a title home to Mississippi more than him, and we appreciate the passion for that goal that he shared with our team every day.’ 

Mississippi athletic department spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.  

The Longhorns succeeded in spite of Beard’s dismissal in 2022-23, earning a second seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big 12 under interim coach Rodney Terr with a 76-56 romp over the third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. 

Beard was arrested on December 12, and charged with assault by strangulation / suffocation – family violence in an alleged incident with his live-in fiancée, Randi Trew.

Police responded to an emergency call at Beard’s house after midnight on December 12 and arrested him after Beard’s fiancée, Randi Trew (left), told officers he choked her from behind, bit her and hit her when the two got in an argument

At first, Trew called 911 and told officers that Beard strangled her from behind to the point where she couldn’t breathe for several seconds.

A police affidavit listed several visible signs of an altercation, including bite marks on her arm and abrasions on her face and leg.

Trew initially told police that Beard ‘choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts,’ according to the affidavit, though she later clarified that she never intended for Beard to be arrested and prosecuted.

In a statement, she didn’t address why she called 911 or several of the physical injuries described in the police report.

The third-degree felony charge that the former Texas head coach faced carried a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison if prosecutors had pressed the case to conviction.

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 in December.

Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard, second from left, walks out of the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, Monday, December 12