Missouri State has named its new head football coach less than 24 hours following Bobby Petrino’s departure to become offensive coordinator at Nevada-Las Vegas.
Defensive coordinator Ryan Beard has been promoted to take over as head coach and will be officially introduced at an 11 a.m. news conference on Monday in the Prime Overtime Club in Great Southern Bank Arena.
“I look forward to working with Ryan in this capacity and continuing our success under his guidance,” Missouri State Athletics Director Kyle Moats said in a news release. “He is a young, dynamic coach who understands the nuance of today's recruiting world.
“He has worked with some of the best coaches in college football during his coaching career, including the likes of Willie Taggert, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain and, of course, Bobby Petrino. He loves Springfield, and he wants to elevate our program to bigger and better things.”
Beard, 33, is Petrino’s son-in-law and has been responsible for much of Missouri State’s recruiting during his time with the Bears. He becomes the 22nd head coach in Missouri State football history.
He joined Petrino’s MSU staff early in 2020 and has played a significant role in Missouri State's recent resurgence on the gridiron. He has managed a Bears defensive unit that has had 14 all-conference selections, three All-Americans and two professional players in his tenure as defensive coordinator, while helping push the program to national prominence.
In his first season in Springfield in 2020-21, Beard and his defensive unit broke a program record for sacks (27), created 15 turnovers, and held every Missouri Valley opponent under 30 points for the first time since 1989. That inaugural season culminated in the Bears owning a share of the Valley championship and earning an NCAA playoff berth for the first time in 30 years.
In his second year, the Bears topped the club sack record again (30), racked up 25 takeaways and secured 15 interceptions. In addition to making a second straight NCAA playoff appearance in 2021, MSU finished second in the MVFC standings, ranked ninth nationally in turnovers gained and finished 14th in interceptions per game.
The 2022 Bears defense gave up just 15.8 points per game over their last four games with defensive end Kevin Ellis leading the nation in fumble recoveries, and four MSU defenders earning all-conference laurels.
Before coming to Springfield, Beard served stints as an assistant coach at Central Michigan (2019), Louisville (2017-18) and Western Kentucky (2016), after a successful playing career at WKU that included two terms on the All-Sun Belt Team.
“It was important to me to keep the continuity of this staff based on the team's recent success,” said Moats. “The strides we have made in recruiting under Ryan's direction have been significant, and he understands what it takes to win in this league. Coach Beard enthusiastically wanted this job, and he believes in Missouri State.”
Beard holds two degrees from Western Kentucky: a bachelor of science in Business Management, and a master of science in Recreation and Sport Administration.
Beard is married to the former Katie Petrino. The couple have four children with son Beau and daughter Lainey, in addition to twins Jacob and Kailey born in the spring of 2022.
