Sun Belt Media Days: Ryan Beard takes over Coastal Carolina
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In 2020, the world undoubtedly changed.
There were positive aspects of the tumultuous year for some, and perhaps no college football program benefited more from that year than the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Coastal Carolina joined the FBS in 2017 and spent three years struggling to adjust to the highest level. However, everything flipped in 2020.
With a myriad of canceled games and shortened seasons, Coastal Carolina’s rise coincided with a place in the national spotlight. The Chanticleers rattled off 11-straight victories and rose to as high as No. 9 the AP Poll, before landing at No. 14 in the final rankings. That year redefined the standard for Coastal Carolina football, and after that standard failed to uphold through losing seasons in 2024 and 2025, a coaching change was made.
Taking over the reins in Conway, SC is former Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard.
“We’re excited for the new era of Chanticleer football,” Beard said. “I think that the way we were able to build our roster in such a fast amount of time — bringing in 50 new players — is a tremendous feat in itself. I think the thing that we do best here at Coastal Carolina is our connection. I think we have to be the most connected football team in the country to be successful.”
In his Sun Belt Media Days debut, the 37-year old (eighth youngest FBS head coach) described his brand of football. Beard comes from a multifaceted background, serving as the special teams coordinator at Central Michigan in 2019 and the defensive coordinator at Missouri State from 2020-22.
“We’re gonna have a quality brand of football,” Beard said. “On offense, we’re gonna try to light the scoreboard up. We’re gonna be highly effective — under center, in the gun, doing all those things, using the tight ends — I know that’s been a question among people. ‘Do you use the tight ends?’ Well the answer is yes. On defense, we’re gonna fly around, hit people, apply pressure when needed, and make sure we do a good job of forcing people into advantage situations.”
Beard served as Missouri State’s head coach for three seasons, facilitating the Bears’ transition from the FCS to the FBS last fall. In year one of FBS membership, he guided the team to a 7-6 record and bowl appearance. Attaining instant success at a new FBS program thrust Beard into several coaching interviews last December, but he claimed Coastal Carolina’s urgency to succeed was a top selling point.
“It fit myself and my family and the vision of excellence the best out of anywhere we interviewed,” Beard said. “They have a sense of urgency to be successful. They’re dying to have a winning football program. I’ve prayed for patience, but it’s eluded me. I want to win right now, and I want to do things the right way, and I want our players to feel that sense of urgency to be their very best self each and every day.”
Beard also cited James Madison’s historic College Football Playoff berth as a factor that drew him to Coastal Carolina. JMU became the first Sun Belt program to qualify for the playoff in 2025, and Beard — a former Sun Belt player himself at WKU — believes that feat will elevate the other 13 member programs, including his Chanticleers.
“What was appealing about the conference was, you’ve got an absolute map to go to the College Football Playoff,” Beard said. “I also believe a rising tide lifts all ships, so shared success within the conference is important to each and every person.”
The Coastal Carolina team Beard will coach is drastically different from the one that participated in the Independence Bowl last December. The Chanticleers lost 17 of 22 primary starters, including 10 on offense. But some of the returning players have embraced the new head coach, excited about the energy he brought throughout spring ball.
“He brings a lot of energy, and that’s my game,” wide receiver Robby Anderson said. “I’m a juice guy, and I love the juice he brings to the team. With a coach like that, when you bring juice, it’s easy to get a team to rally behind you and we go out there to fight for you.”
Beard discussed the importance of adapting to existing players, like Anderson, when taking a new job — understanding their traits and skillsets to best utilize them on gamedays. But there’s a balancing act with it as well. In addition to adapting, he also stated the importance of instilling a culture. There will be significant carryover from Missouri State’s culture at Coastal Carolina, considering Beard brought 11 players and nine assistants on the long trek from Springfield, MO to Conway, SC.
“It’s a great foundational piece to have to bring high quality players into your new organization,” Beard said of strong the Missouri State influence in his roster and on his staff. “They know you as a person, they know you as a coach, they know how you operate, and they know the day-in, day-out procedures. They can be culture builders, guys that say, ‘Hey listen, if you don’t run out of this break, Coach Beard’s gonna be on you.’ I know that sounds like a small thing, but everything we do is in efficient manner. How you do anything is how you do everything. I think the guys from Missouri State have challenged the guys to understand this is the standard in which we operate and this is how we become successful.”
One of those Missouri State players is quarterback Deuce Bailey, who played recurringly as a backup for the Bears in 2025. Per Beard, Bailey will enter fall camp entangled in a 4-man quarterback competition, along with JUCO standout Tre Guerra, Arkansas transfer Trever Jackson, and true freshman Osiris Lopez.
“I have a firm belief the team will pick who the quarterback is,” Beard said. “Once we see that happen, we’ll start to in-house figure out who that guy is, pump in more one reps, but right now it is a fully open competition.”
The answer will officially be determined by Saturday, Sept. 5 when the Ryan Beard era kicks off with a road matchup at West Virginia.
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