Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: SEC

The SEC only saw one coaching change last spring, but that didn’t stop the league from staying out of the headlines. Ole Miss made perhaps the most controversial hire of the off-season and there’s always something to talk about in Lexington. Let’s dive into the league’s coaching carousel preview.

Newcomers

Chris Beard (Ole Miss)

Chris Beard’s tenure in Austin lasted one and a half seasons thanks to an arrest and third-degree felony charge in December of 2022. Beard was fired in January and the charge was dropped the following month. With the charges out of the way, it gave schools cover if they chose to hire him. Ole Miss wasted no time giving Beard another opportunity. Rebels athletic director Keith Carter said he and conference officials at the SEC thoroughly vetted Beard and his transgressions before making the hire official. Whether you agree with the hire or not, Ole Miss got the best available coach this off-season. Beard is 171-73 in eight seasons as a Division I head coach with a national title game appearance. He’s won literally everywhere he’s been and we don’t see that changing at Ole Miss. The only question now is how long he’ll be there.

Potential Movers

Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt)

Jerry Stackhouse has steadily improved the Vanderbilt program every season since he got there and the NBA is starting to notice. Stackhouse was linked to multiple openings this off-season, including the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors. Stackhouse eventually denied the rumors and will return to Nashville for another season. Many people in the industry believe Stackhouse will ultimately end up back in the NBA, it’s just a matter of when. The Commodores survived the flurry of moves made this off-season, but if the right job opens up, Stackhouse will surely get involved.

Hot Seat

John Calipari (Kentucky)

Only at Kentucky can a man with a $33M buyout land on the hot seat. Kentucky has expectations like no other job in the country and John Calipari has not lived up to them the last three seasons. Since making the Elite Eight in 2019, Kentucky hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Off the court, Calipari’s relationship with athletic director Mitch Barnhart has deteriorated over the years. Public spats over facilities and funding have made things tense in Lexington. Big Blue Nation is not afraid to express their displeasure with how things have gone lately and they’re also not afraid to find some loose change to fund a buyout. Another first weekend exit could be the tipping point that ends Calipari’s wildly successful run at Kentucky.

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