Chris Beard shares feelings on coaching staff at Ole Miss

A new job for Chris Beard meant hiring a brand new team of assistants, although the new Rebel leader called upon some old friends to fill out his inagural staff in Oxford. Recently, Beard hopped on the College Hoops Today podcast with Jon Rothstein to discuss various nitty-gritty details of his first month with the new gig, and as part of that conversation, Rothstein asked for Beard’s thoughts on the staff he’s just assembled.

Here was his initial answer:

“Well, we’ve got some talented guys. You know, Jon, I’ve never put staffs together with anything other than the most talented, you know, head coach type guys we have. You know, I don’t believe in…this guy’s a recruiter, that guy’s an on-the-floor coach. We try to get guys that have not only already been Division I head coaches, but guys that undeniably will be soon. What’s extra special here is a lot of the guys on this staff, we’ve all worked together before.”

Beard then went on to detail the different assistants he’s hired so far, pointing out the experience they each bring while also shouting out Ole Miss‘ new strength coach as well.

“So Al Pinkins coming over from Texas Tech most recently, but Al has experience at several SEC schools. Al’s one of the best guys I’ve ever worked with. Brian Burg was part of our Final Four/Monday night team at Texas Tech, most recently the head coach at Georgia Southern.

“You know Wes Flanigan, coming over from Auburn, having that SEC experience and did a great job with Bruce Pearl over there, Final Four run the same year we were in the Final Four. And certainly for us, you know, nobody’s more important than our strength coach, John Reilly, one of the best in all of basketball. John does so much. Not just the strength coach, but builds our culture every day. So I think having Coach Riley here is just another example of where the optimism comes from here.”

Lastly, Chris Beard said his coaching searches weren’t about finding the best recruiter or best x’s and o’s guy necessarily, but instead, he made it a goal to find a staff that is experienced and works well together.

“We’re getting started. We’re putting pieces in every spot that I think not only are talented people, but also they fit together. You know, I’ve always thought coaching staffs are a lot like teams. It’s not just about getting talented people, it’s about getting talented people that fit together.”