4. Chris Beard, Texas Tech Red Raiders
One of the most common criticisms of our coach rankings prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament was that Chris Beard was ranked far too low. We’ll eat some crow on that one, because Beard was definitely too low, and his work at Texas Tech has been exemplary.
Since taking over for Tubby Smith in 2016, Beard has transformed the Red Raiders into a Big 12 powerhouse, going 75-30 and guiding Texas Tech to its first two Elite Eight appearances in program history over the past two years. Texas Tech has thrived this season thanks to its smothering defense, which throttled Buffalo, Michigan, and Gonzaga to get to the Final Four.
This isn’t Beard’s first rodeo as a head coach either. Prior to taking the Texas Tech job, Beard spent a year at Arkansas-Little Rock, which won 30 games and upset 5-seed Purdue in the NCAA Tournament before losing in the Round of 32.
The reason Beard is at the bottom of the Final Four coach rankings isn’t due at all to his coaching ability, which rates just as high as anyone on the list. This simply comes down to the fact that the other coaches have had more tenure to put together impressive resumes, something Beard can chip away at throughout his time at Texas Tech.
Beard is without a doubt the fastest rising coach in the country right now, and that is nothing to sneeze at. Thanks to the incredible coaching of Beard, Texas Tech has reached the Final Four for the first time in school history.