Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt comments on coaching search, does not reject Chris Beard as candidate

After months UNLV finally signed Chris Beard to be their next basketball coach, but then then the Texas Tech job opened up and Beard is reportedly their top choice.

Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt held a press conference about their unexpected coaching search and was asked about candidates, including UNLV's Beard.

"I'm not going to comment on candidates," Hocutt said. "This is unexpected, and as soon as we finish here my focus 24/7 is going go to turn to this basketball coaching search, and we'll look throughout the country.

"We'll make sure, as I told this basketball team, that we bring the best man in to lead them going forward. We'll move as expeditiously as we can, but as they know, we're going to take as much time as needed to make sure we find the right person to come in and move us forward."

Beard spent a decade as a Red Raiders assistant coach and was the associate head coach, too.

Not mentioning candidates by name is not too uncommon but it seems that Beard is indeed at the top of the list because there are reports from Fox 5 in Las Vegas seeing that Beard was sen in Lubbock.

Just got a tip from a credible source that Chris Beard has been spotted in Lubbock, Texas. #UNLVmbb

— Elizabeth Watts (@ElizabethWatts5) April 14, 2016

However, there is one gigantic sized caveat with that in that Beard was out recruiting in Texas and he has family in the state so it is very plausible it was a stop to see them on his way back to Las Vegas, but the timing can not make UNLV fans all that settled about their new head coach.

Speaking of Beard returning to Las Vegas, there is a report coming from the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Just got information that Beard is on campus at UNLV. #UNLVmbb #RJnow

— Mark Anderson (@markanderson65) April 14, 2016

This is really a soap opera-style offseason for the Rebels with the coaching search and players leaving the program at a high rate.

If Beard were to leave for Texas Tech, the Red Raiders would owe UNLV $1 million as part of the buyout that is in the contract.

If UNLV must conducted another coaching search the Rebels would set their eyes back on New Mexico State's Marvin Menzies, who was a finalist for the job but ultimately lost out to Beard, or the Rebels could reach out to former assistant coaches Stacey Augmon or Ryan Miller to run the UNLV program.