Well, this could prove to be a busy weekend and I thought a post to dump any Twitter rumors or things like that would be helpful.

As we all know, Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart took the Marquette position and now the UT position is open. As you would expect, Chris Beard is most likely at the top of the list for the Longhorns, and rightfully so. The history is there, Beard being a graduate assistant there when Tom Penders was there, and Beard’s affinity for the hill country is just that much closer for him. I know the argument has always been that his kids are closer in Lubbock, but as his kids get older and the more money that he has, the shorter the distance it is to anywhere. Beard’s fiancé is no longer a high school teacher and coach so she can go where he goes and would guess that was the plan with her resigning at Frenship.

Still, Beard cut his basketball teeth in Lubbock under head coach Bob Knight. Beard’s loyalty to Texas Tech, well, this is the longest Beard has held any job since he was an assistant coach at Texas Tech where he was here from 2001 to 2011. He’s spent more time in Lubbock than he has anywhere else. The athletic department built Beard the practice facility of his dreams so there’s no reason to think that a lack of commitment or resources would be a reason to exit.

I don’t know what Beard will do, I would guess that Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt would empty his wallet (maybe Dustin Womble would too) to keep Beard here and much like Tim Tadlock’s conversation with Texas, sometimes being where your feet are is the best thing.

I know that you and I can all say that going to Texas sounds like an absolute beating, the bureaucracy sounds terrible and all of the other things, other than just focusing on basketball, would drive me insane. With that being said, I would guess you could negotiate out a lot of those requirements in a contract. I’m hopeful that Beard stays, but realistically I know that Beard leaving is a real possibility. If Beard did leave, then it would definitely, at least for me, be one of those cases where that’s just where he wants to be. The reality of that would stink, but I certainly get it.