Gosh. I don’t know where to begin, but I do have some knowledge from sources close to the situation. I’m not at liberty to state one way or another.

The fact that I’m sort of writing this and not doing something else is probably an indication that this is not a, pardon the pun, slam dunk proposition one way or another. You probably already knew that though because it is logical.

It makes sense that if Chris Beard didn’t want the job, a new contract extension would have been announced as agreed to in principal and pending board approval. New contracts would be announced for assistant coaches would be in the works and we’d all move on to other things.

I would also guess that if the deal was done with Texas, it would also be announced in some form or fashion, that Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt and significant-donor Dustin Womble have opened their wallets (and others that I may not know about) and given Beard as much as possible is not an indictment of Texas Tech, Hocutt, or anyone else, but Beard just wanted to be there and not here. As I wrote on Sunday, he may just want to be in Austin.

The fact that we’re here. You are reading this post, then you know that there is the likely scenario that Beard is contemplating his options. And I wouldn’t pain this as Beard likes one position or another, but back in 2018 one of the smartest basketball minds that I know, our very own DanSwany wrote this (yes, he wrote this 3 years ago, which is pretty incredible to have this sort of forethought):

Here were my thoughts on the situation – Yes, nothing lasts forever and if Shaka Smart keeps messing up in Austin… UT will come calling for Coach Beard. Chris Beard will get an offer he cannot refuse, and nobody could blame him for packing his bags and going down to Austin to get his treasure. We do not have to like it, but we have to accept it. That is my opinion, and I feel that while it makes me sick to my stomach to admit this, we have to hope the Longhorns are just good enough to not throw Shaka out of Austin for the next couple of years. I hope to hell and back that I’m wrong, but that is how I feel.

With that answer finally out on the table, I immediately started to feel better about the situation. Maybe it was the Bishop’s Barrel beer I had been chugging, but I was no longer in denial. I was no longer harboring my fears, and I had admitted to what was bothering me since the March Madness magic had worn off.

I cannot run from the the question, and us Texas Tech fans are going to have to stop running from it at some point. Because, this program is going to continue to rise. We are going to become a household name, and those “elite” basketball schools will start respecting the basketball squad out in Lubbock, Texas. We are going to be on the college basketball map, and Chris Beard will put us there. With that comes the anxiety that some other school will pluck our head coach, and we will have to start from scratch again. I feel it was only right to admit this to myself, and not blindly think Chris Beard is here to stay forever. Deal with it, in whatever way you can.

So, even the worst case scenario isn’t as bad as it was a few years ago.

I’d also add that the part that is part of Beard’s culture really can’t be true at a particular point, which is that it’s tough to have a team of street dogs in Austin. It just is. Deep down he’ll know that and replicating that attitude with high-end talent maybe doesn’t play as well as it does here in Lubbock. You can’t always replicate the same success no matter where you go, it just doesn’t work that way.

Hold onto your butts. Here we go.