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Denton (Texas) hires David Beaty, former Kansas Jayhawks head coach

hunterby: Hunter Shelton01/15/25HunterShelton_
NCAA Football: Rutgers at Kansas
Sep 15, 2018; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach David Beaty watches play on the sidelines during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Memorial Stadium. Kansas won 55-14. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in 20 years, David Beaty is returning to high school football.

Denton ISD announced on Tuesday night that Beaty, former head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, has been hired as the school’s new head coach and campus athletic coordinator.

The Garland, Texas product is once again back in the Lone Star State after 16 years across multiple stops in the college ranks. Beaty was head coach at Kansas from 2015-2018 and has also spent time as a receivers coach at Rice, Texas A&M and most recently Florida Atlantic.

Beaty replaces Billy Miller, who stepped down from his post after spending the last eight seasons as Broncos head coach.

“My family and I are honored to be at Denton High School,” Beaty said in a press release announcing the hire. “This is an unbelievable school district. I am blown away by the quality of people here, and it is the people in an organization that make a place special. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get going.”

Before coaching college, Beaty was an assistant coach in Garland before landing his first head coaching gig at North Dallas High in 2001. He was there for one season before taking the head job at Irving MacArthur, where he spent four seasons from 2002-2005.

He then spent time as receivers coach and offensive coordinator at Rice and Kansas from 2006-2011. Before landing the head coaching position at Kansas in 2015, he spent three seasons as a receivers coach at Texas A&M.

His tenure in Lawrence was rough, as Beaty finished with a 6-42 record as Kansas skipper. The Jayhawks won just two Big 12 games across the four seasons.

Beaty then spent a season as a consultant on Texas’ staff in 2019 before landing an offensive coordinator job for the USFL’s Houston Gamblers in 2022. He made the move to FAU in 2023, but is now heading back to Friday night lights.

Denton hasn’t produced a winning season since 2016 and it hasn’t won a playoff game since 2015. Beaty will look to bring some sustained success to the Broncos, who went 2-8 this past season.