Interim head coach Rodney Terry will remain in his role for the remainder of the season after Chris Beard was officially fired on Jan. 5.  

Terry has the experience and roots needed to lead a team of Texas’ caliber.

For the past year and a half, Terry has been an integral part of the Longhorns’ culture and turnaround.

Terry has done an impressive job of keeping the team on track, going 8–1 since he took over. Texas is also 4–1 in the Big 12, with key wins over conference opponents then No. 17 TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Along with their recent success, Texas players have praised Terry for his performance since becoming the head coach.

“It’s been a comfortable transition,” graduate student guard Marcus Carr said.

Terry began his collegiate playing career in 1986 as a point guard for St. Edward’s University in Austin. After his playing career came to an end, he turned towards coaching and immediately became an assistant for his alma mater.

After a year there, Terry coached high school teams from 1993-1996 before assistant coach roles at Baylor and UNC-Wilmington. He then returned to Austin, but this time he would be working for the University of Texas. For nine years, Terry served as an assistant coach under Rick Barnes, helping develop a number of great players such as Kevin Durant, T.J. Ford and Tristan Thompson. He was also a part of multiple NCAA tournament runs. In that time frame, the Longhorns made it to the Final Four once and the Elite Eight three times.

In 2011, Terry took his first head coaching job at the collegiate level with Fresno State. Terry posted a 126–108 overall record with the Bulldogs and led them to their first win over a ranked opponent in over a decade. Terry’s Fresno State team beat No. 25 San Diego State in 2015, the Bulldogs first ranked win since 2002. Terry returned to the UT system as the head coach of the UTEP Miners for the 2018-2019 season and posted a 37–48 overall record from 2018-2021.

Before he even came to Texas, Terry had 10 years of head coaching experience to his name. Along with his experience, his players continue to praise him for being a great team fit.

“(Rodney Terry) just has what it takes,” freshman forward Dillon Mitchell said in a tweet. “At any time, I feel like I can go (into) RT’s office and talk to him about anything. If I just want to go in there and sit in there and watch film, if I want to go in there and not even talk about basketball at all, I feel like I can go in his office and do that.”

If Terry is able to maintain a relatively spotless Big 12 record, then he may have a case to remain head coach and shed the interim tag.