Missouri State is coming off a solid 2024 season where the Bears went 8-4 overall. They hope that will give them some momentum as they go into their first season in the FBS.
Head coach Ryan Beard will attempt to help Missouri State put together a solid start against Conference USA competition. Here’s more about Ryan Beard and his resume.
What’s Missouri State Head Coach Ryan Beard’s Salary?
Ryan Beard signed a contract extension last offseason that will end after the 2028 season and will have a base salary of $450,000 in 2025 after that number was $315,000 in 2024. Salary increases are also included in the final three years of the deal.
Ryan Beard’s Coaching History
| Years | Team | Position |
| 2023-Present | Missouri St. | HC |
| 2020-22 | Missouri St. | DC |
| 2019 | Central Michigan | STC/S |
| 2017-18 | Louisville | LBs/Co-STC/QC |
| 2016 | Western Kentucky | DBs |
| 2014-15 | Louisville | DQC |
| 2012-13 | Western Kentucky | GA |
What’s Missouri State Head Coach Ryan Beard’s Record?
Ryan Beard is 0-0 in the FBS as a head coach. He’s gone 12-11 at Missouri State after having gone 8-4 in 2024.
How Old Is Missouri State Head Coach Ryan Beard?
Ryan Beard is 36 years old.
Missouri State Head Coach Ryan Beard’s Background
Ryan Beard was the youngest person to become Missouri State’s head coach when he was promoted at 34 years old in December 2022.
In 2023, while the Bears did go 4-7 overall, they were fifth in the FCS in passing offense with 300.3 yards per game and 26th in total offense with 400.8 yards per contest while averaging 29.8 points per game, which ranked 31st in the nation. He also coached a couple FCS All-Americans during that campaign.
Previously, Beard was Missouri State’s defensive coordinator for three seasons. During that span, he coached a defense that earned 18 all-conference nods and four All-American accolades while three players from that time had opportunities to play professionally.
In the spring of 2021, Missouri State broke its program record with 27 sacks en route to winning a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and securing a spot in the FCS playoffs for the first time in 30 years. The Bears went ahead and broke that sack record again with 30 in the fall of 2021. Missouri State was among the best in the country in different statistical categories on defense when Beard was the DC.
Before going to Missouri State, Beard was a special teams and safeties coach at Central Michigan in 2019. He was a quality control coach at Louisville, where he was from 2017-18, before becoming the team’s linebackers coach and co-special teams coordinator. He was also a defensive quality control coach there from 2014-15.
He coached defensive backs in 2016 at Western Kentucky, where was a two-time All-Sun Belt defensive back himself, and was a graduate assistant at WKU in 2012-13.
