photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas head coach David Beaty watches the action during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 at Memorial Stadium.

Former Kansas football coach David Beaty is the new head coach at Denton High School in Texas, the Denton Independent School District announced in a press release. Beaty’s hiring was approved at a board meeting on Tuesday.

After KU’s then-athletic director Jeff Long fired Beaty at the conclusion of the 2018 season, Beaty worked as a consultant for the University of Texas, a co-offensive coordinator for the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League and most recently a wide receivers coach at Florida Atlantic.

“My family and I are honored to be at Denton High School,” Beaty said in the press release. “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.”

Beaty’s roots are in the Texas high school ranks. A native of Garland, Texas, he had served as a head coach at North Dallas and Irving MacArthur high schools before working as a collegiate assistant at Rice, KU and Texas A&M. Then KU brought Beaty on as its head coach for the 2015 season.

In four years in Lawrence, Beaty compiled a record of 6-42 and was fired late in the 2018 season before undertaking a protracted legal battle with KU that he settled for $2.55 million in June 2020.

In Denton, where he will also serve as “athletic coordinator,” Beaty replaces Billy Miller, who coached the Broncos from 2017 to 2024.

“Coach Beaty is an incredible coach with a long history of success in both high school and college,” Denton ISD Athletic Director Joey Florence said in the release. “His ability to connect with students and families will be an incredible asset. We are very excited to have him lead the athletic program at Denton High School.”