re: Is Chris Beard still unproven?

Most people (myself included) didn't know who he was until he ended up at UALR and worked a minor miracle there in 2016. That same season, Mike went 16-16. But hey, it wasn't a losing season, so there's that. I recall plenty of people wanting to get rid of Mike at that time and not let Beard leave the state. Arguably a bit premature.

I have no clue if Beard would be interested in the Arkansas job. Although, I've stated before that the Arkansas job, by most objective measures, is better than the Texas Tech job. The problem is that personal ties to Tech and the State of Texas as a whole (combined with $3M+) probably mean a lot to him. Can't blame him there.

Also, I don't think that Arkansas would pay him what it would take. I'd make him my #1 target and determine if there was any interest whatsoever. If not, move on down the list, but don't go any further than Sampson.