Chris Beard opens up on relationship with Lane Kiffin, Yolett McPhee-McCuin

Through his first season as Ole Miss head coach, Chris Beard has had a front-row seat to two colleagues with big personalities. On the women’s basketball side, Yolett McPhee-McCuin is one of the most entertaining coaches in the SEC, while football coach Lane Kiffin is making a name for himself with his unique social media habits.

As he navigated his first go-round in Oxford, though, Beard said is building relationships with both coaches.

Kiffin is the highest-profile coach at Ole Miss. He led the Rebels to back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time in history a season ago, and the self-proclaimed “Portal King” made big splashes in the transfer portal this offseason. He also added some high-profile assistants to his staff to help sustain the success.

Kiffin has also set an example for Beard as he builds the basketball program.

“I really like Lane,” Beard said Wednesday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “We’ve learned a lot from him, just observing what he’s built. And then certainly, in the early stages of having a personal friendship with him. He’s really good for Oxford, he’s really good for Ole Miss, he’s been really good for us as we built the basketball program.”

McPhee-McCuin, meanwhile, has the Ole Miss women’s basketball program looking strong since taking over in 2018. The Rebels have won at least 23 games in each of the last three seasons and will bring a 23-9 record into this year’s NCAA Tournament. Before McPhee-McCuin took over, Ole Miss hadn’t been to the big dance since 2007.

What stands out to Beard, though, isn’t necessarily the on-court product – although it’s impressive. Instead, he noticed the philosophies McPhee-McCuin wanted to instill in her players, and that’s a big reason for her success.

“Coach Yo’s special,” Beard said. “What I would say about Coach Yo, when people ask, is her team and her program definitely has a culture, and I knew it five minutes into walking into the Tuohy center on the Ole Miss campus. So a lot of respect for her. We’re all excited about watching her team make a special run this March.

“But just like Lane, Coach Yo and all the other coaches of Ole Miss have been really good to us and our staff this first year.”

Chris Beard breaks down the ‘totally different social media games’ Lane Kiffin, Yolett McPhee-McCuin have

Of course, as Chris Beard pointed out, there’s one big difference between Kiffin and McPhee-McCuin.

“Totally different social media games, though, between Lane and Yo,” he said.

Kiffin has become arguably the most famous troll on X (formerly Twitter) in the college football world. Whether it’s sharing articles with emojis or posting cryptic pictures, it’s become a way for Kiffin to showcase more of his unique personality.

McPhee-McCuin, however, goes about things differently. She interacts with fans and shares her thoughts on happenings around the basketball world. In fact, Beard said it’s pretty easy to see where she stands on certain issues based on her profile.

It also makes it even more fun to follow along with their programs.

“I think Lane has sneaky content,” Beard said. “You’ve got to kind of take a double look at some of the things, and I think there’s always a message behind the message. Kind of an elite thinker. Obviously, he’s very intelligent. And then Coach Yo, I respect that. One of the core values in our program is tell the truth. Just don’t mess around. And I think everyday with Coach Yo, you want to know how to Coach Yo’s feeling, it’s right there on her social media.

“But both coaches are special. We’ve had a lot of fun following their programs in a lot of ways, including their social media.”