I know you guys want an update and I'll do my best here. One caveat: This is fluid. Things change. What's true now might not be true in three hours.
Ole Miss is optimistic about its chances to retain Chris Beard, but I have some questions as to why. First and foremost, Ole Miss is doing everything it realistically can to keep Beard. There's no small-time action here. They're playing big-boy basketball, if you will. Beard knows Ole Miss wants to retain him and I believe Ole Miss was/is hoping for closure, to be able to announce a new deal/extension/additions to the contract. However, as of this moment, that announcement hasn't come.
Arkansas, meanwhile, has clearly made Beard its priority. I believe Arkansas knew in mid-January Eric Musselman would move on. Frankly, I believe there were some who wanted him to move on, may have even nudged a bit. He alienated some donors, rubbed some people the wrong way, etc. Their dream target all along was Beard. I think Ole Miss knew that and did its best to get ahead of it with the new deal announced at the SEC Tournament.
Yet, here we are. A source close to the Arkansas program told me this morning the Razorbacks' offer -- and we could play semantics on the word "offer" -- is incredibly lucrative, both in terms of salary and in terms of NIL. I've heard NIL numbers as high as $5 million. Uniting the Little Rock portion of the fan base to the Northwest Arkansas portion of the fan base has been difficult in the past, I'm told. Beard, apparently, would eliminate that issue. A couple of sources have told me Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek has been told by boosters from both factions that they'll open previously closed pockets to provide NIL if he can land Beard. There's not a lot of confidence among that fan base regarding Sam Pittman's chances in 2024, and there isn't exactly a waiting line of boosters eager to pump NIL into what they view to be a fairly hopeless situation. So there's an opportunity for other sports to get that money right now. Whether that is a factor Beard considers is information I don't have. I have no idea.
So Arkansas' pursuit is very real. Again, Ole Miss sources are optimistic Beard will stay. A couple of national people have told us they believe, in the end, Beard will leave.
I do believe Ole Miss is prepared either way and would be in position to move quickly should Beard leave. Along those lines, I expect Arkansas to move quickly. If Beard is indecisive, I suspect they'll move down the line. One source close to Arkansas said he expected news to leak, one way or the other, in the next 12-24 hours.
My guess: I have no idea. Flip a coin. As I said yesterday, when all the people around Arkansas think he's headed there and all the people around Ole Miss think he's staying, I have to factor in that either one side is being badly misled or it's simply a lot of hope in the midst or uncertainty.
I'll update later if I know more. I realize that's not a lot of information, but it's all I have.
Addition from Chase:
This comes down to Beard and what he wants to do. He’s using leverage to see how high Ole Miss will elevate several areas of the program and if he stays, he’ll have more to work with. However, if he leaves, it brings up the possibility that he was asking for more and more simply to reach the breaking point and make the exit more palatable in his mind. Again, we have no idea, but that’s the thought exercise has both options in play. Multiple sources with knowledge fall on both sides of that either/or.
Ole Miss is optimistic about its chances to retain Chris Beard, but I have some questions as to why. First and foremost, Ole Miss is doing everything it realistically can to keep Beard. There's no small-time action here. They're playing big-boy basketball, if you will. Beard knows Ole Miss wants to retain him and I believe Ole Miss was/is hoping for closure, to be able to announce a new deal/extension/additions to the contract. However, as of this moment, that announcement hasn't come.
Arkansas, meanwhile, has clearly made Beard its priority. I believe Arkansas knew in mid-January Eric Musselman would move on. Frankly, I believe there were some who wanted him to move on, may have even nudged a bit. He alienated some donors, rubbed some people the wrong way, etc. Their dream target all along was Beard. I think Ole Miss knew that and did its best to get ahead of it with the new deal announced at the SEC Tournament.
Yet, here we are. A source close to the Arkansas program told me this morning the Razorbacks' offer -- and we could play semantics on the word "offer" -- is incredibly lucrative, both in terms of salary and in terms of NIL. I've heard NIL numbers as high as $5 million. Uniting the Little Rock portion of the fan base to the Northwest Arkansas portion of the fan base has been difficult in the past, I'm told. Beard, apparently, would eliminate that issue. A couple of sources have told me Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek has been told by boosters from both factions that they'll open previously closed pockets to provide NIL if he can land Beard. There's not a lot of confidence among that fan base regarding Sam Pittman's chances in 2024, and there isn't exactly a waiting line of boosters eager to pump NIL into what they view to be a fairly hopeless situation. So there's an opportunity for other sports to get that money right now. Whether that is a factor Beard considers is information I don't have. I have no idea.
So Arkansas' pursuit is very real. Again, Ole Miss sources are optimistic Beard will stay. A couple of national people have told us they believe, in the end, Beard will leave.
I do believe Ole Miss is prepared either way and would be in position to move quickly should Beard leave. Along those lines, I expect Arkansas to move quickly. If Beard is indecisive, I suspect they'll move down the line. One source close to Arkansas said he expected news to leak, one way or the other, in the next 12-24 hours.
My guess: I have no idea. Flip a coin. As I said yesterday, when all the people around Arkansas think he's headed there and all the people around Ole Miss think he's staying, I have to factor in that either one side is being badly misled or it's simply a lot of hope in the midst or uncertainty.
I'll update later if I know more. I realize that's not a lot of information, but it's all I have.
Addition from Chase:
This comes down to Beard and what he wants to do. He’s using leverage to see how high Ole Miss will elevate several areas of the program and if he stays, he’ll have more to work with. However, if he leaves, it brings up the possibility that he was asking for more and more simply to reach the breaking point and make the exit more palatable in his mind. Again, we have no idea, but that’s the thought exercise has both options in play. Multiple sources with knowledge fall on both sides of that either/or.
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