5 things to know about new Missouri State football head coach Ryan Beard

Ryan Beard will be promoted from Missouri State's defensive coordinator to head coach following the departure of Bobby Petrino to become the offensive coordinator at UNLV.

Beard has been on the Bears' staff for all three seasons under Petrino, his father-in-law. The coach will allow for some continuity when the Missouri State football program was finally building into something that was respectable.

Here are some things to know about Beard as he takes over as the Bears' head coach.

Beard was responsible for turning the Bears' defense around

When the Petrino staff took over the Bears, they absorbed a defense that ranked among the worst in the FCS in most statistical categories — although the previous staff was led by a defensive-minded head coach.

The Bears were allowing 36.1 points per game and were the third-worst in passing efficiency allowed. They allowed 442.4 yards per game when their offense wasn't anything to speak about either.

More:Missouri State football promotes Ryan Beard to head coach following Bobby Petrino's departure

Within one offseason, the Bears' defense quickly turned around and was the reason why the Bears went to their first FCS Playoffs appearance since 1990 while winning a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Bears allowed just 22.8 points per game during the 2021 spring season and finished second in the MVFC in sacks. In the secondary, the Bears had a handful of standouts including Jeremy Webb, Montrae Braswell, Kyriq McDonald and Titus Wall — who all had their moments.

The defense continued to play at a high level into the fall season while getting back to the FCS Playoffs. It allowed 26.2 points per game and averaged 2.5 sacks per game. It also created 25 total turnovers which ranked ninth in the nation. Defensive lineman Eric Johnson was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts after the season to become the first MSU player selected since 2011.

Missouri State took a step back both offensively and defensively in 2022. Injuries along the defensive front and secondary set the Bears back while they were on the field for the majority of games because of the offense's struggles.

Beard has been one of Missouri State's top recruiters

If you looked at Twitter following the departure of Petrino, you would have seen current and potential Bears endorsing Beard to become the next Bears head coach. There's a reason for that.

Beard has been one of the Bears' top recruiters during this most recent stretch when they're recruiting at a higher level than they had been in quite some time. The young, energetic coach is one to get fired up on the sideline and is someone players talk about having good relationships with.

More:Wheeler: Ryan Beard promotion to Missouri State head football coach allows deserved continuity

From a local standpoint, Beard has been one of the leads in landing standouts like Reeds Spring's Caden Wiest along with Kickapoo's Andrew Link. Both tweeted endorsements for Beard, and the coach has frequently been seen on the sidelines for their games in recent years. Those two, in addition to others the Bears have landed, are higher-level players than those the Bears have landed in quite some time.

His experience is mostly with the secondary and special teams

Before taking over as the head coach, Beard spent a lot of time as a secondary coach along with looking over special teams.

Prior to his time in Springfield, Beard was a special teams coordinator and safeties coach at Central Michigan under Jim McElwain. He joined the CMU staff in February 2019 and helped the Chippewas to an 8-6 record and a defense that intercepted 13 passes.

He also was an assistant under Petrino during the 2017-18 seasons at Louisville. He was a defensive backs coach and quality control coach before becoming the Cardinals' linebacker coach and co-special teams coordinator. He helped coach Green Bay Packers star Jaire Alexander.

Beard also served as the defensive backs coach at Western Kentucky in 2016 where he helped the Hilltoppers win the Conference USA title and the Boca Raton Bowl.

Beard is Bobby Petrino's son-in-law

Beard was one of a few who had ties to the Petrino family on the coaching staff. Beard is Petrino's son-in-law and is married to Petrino's daughter, the former Katie Petrino.

The couple has four children with their son Beau and daughter Lainey. The two had a set of twins in the spring of 2022 with Jacob and Kailey.

Beard was a cornerback at Western Kentucky

Beard's defensive expertise started as a player. He was a defensive back and played at Western Kentucky from 2007-11 where he was a two-time All-Sun Belt selection and was named to the league's All-Freshmen and All-Academic team.

Beard holds two degrees from Western Kentucky including a bachelor of science in business management and a master of science in recreation and sports administration.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Ryan Beard: What to know about new Missouri State football head coach