Terry says he always felt confident he’d earn Texas job

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Rodney Terry held Texastogether in crisis. Then he took the Longhorns on their deepestNCAA Tournament run in 15 years.

His reward: Texas removed the “interim” tag from his title andmade him the full-time head coach.

“I felt confident the whole time to be honest with you,” Terrysaid Tuesday at his news conference, where the former assistant wasintroduced as head coach. “I’d prepared my whole life for thisopportunity.”

Not everyone was so calm about it. As the season wore on andTexas advanced deeper in the NCAA Tournament, the university’swait-and-see approach became one of the biggest stories of thepostseason as fans and players, past and present, wondered whatmore did he have to prove?

For some, March Madness was being mad at Texas for being slow onthe decision.

Texas finally announced Monday — about 24 hours after theLonghorns’ season ended in the Elite Eight — that Terry was indeedthe new head coach.

“You had a very long job interview,” Texas President JayHartzell said Tuesday. “And I would say you nailed it.”

Texas officials put Terry in charge when Chris Beard initiallywas suspended, then fired, midseason after a felony domesticviolence arrest.

He’d been a Texas assistant for a decade under Rick Barnesbefore head-coaching stints at Fresno State and UTEP, beforereturning to the Longhorns as an assistant in 2021.

“My time and Fresno and UTEP prepared me for this opportunity,”Terry said. “No one knows this place better than me and how to besuccessful at an elite level (at Texas).”

Once in charge, Terry did just about everything anyone couldask. He guided an experienced, senior-laden team to a second-placefinish in the Big 12 Conference, the third-most wins in schoolhistory, a Big 12 Tournament championship and its first Elite Eightsince 2008.

The university did not immediately release a copy of thecontract under a public records request from The Associated Press.University of Texas System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltifesaid Terry got a five-year deal for $3 million per year.

“Coach Terry is just everything we want in a leader,” Eltifesaid. “We all want to win. But you also want someone who is a rolemodel for our student. Class, integrity and character. And look atthe way he handled himself after the incident we went through.”

Attending the news conference were Terry’s players from thisseason, as well as several former prominent Longhorns and NBAplayers, including LaMarcus Aldridge and T.J. Ford. Both played atTexas while Terry was an assistant.

“Everyone was worried what would happen” after Beard was fired,Aldridge said. “He bonded those guys together.”

Beard was arrested on Dec. 12 after his fiancée told police hestrangled, bit and hit her during a confrontation at his home. Shelater said Beard didn’t choke her. Texas fired Beard on Jan. 5,calling him “unfit” to lead the program.

The district attorney dismissed the charge in February.Prosecutors said they could not prove the case beyond a reasonabledoubt and the fiancée did not want to go to trial.

Beard has since been hired at Mississippi.

Terry said Beard reached out to congratulate him on Monday,adding he wished Beard “nothing but success” at Ole Miss.

Terry credited the Longhorns players for not fracturing underthe stress of having their head coach fired midseason.

“No team faced the challenge you guys faced this year,” Terrysaid.

Texas should be regular contenders for the Elite Eight andbeyond, he said. Texas went to the Final Four in 2003 and advancedto the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight four more times in his first stintas an assistant.

“We set a high bar for ourselves” this season, Terry said. “Wewant to get back to that Elite Eight game. Obviously we want adifferent outcome when we get to that game and have a chance to getto the Final Four.”