UNLV's Chris Beard is leading candidate for Texas Tech job

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY SportsIs there any real substance to the chatter that Chris Beard could leave UNLV for Texas Tech before even coaching a game?

New UNLV head coach Chris Beard probably doesn't even have his office arranged yet, so the rumors that he is going to leave the Rebels to head back to Texas Tech seem to be just that, only rumors. Bleacher Report's Jason King is reporting that Beard is the top choice to replace Tubby Smith who recently took the head coaching job at Memphis.

There was chatter Wednesday night about Beard being connected to the Red Raiders sudden opening, and there is good reason for that since Beard has been an assistant coach at a few locations in the state…