Baylor was one kick away from a win at Kansas on Saturday, October 24. With the Jayhawks leading 25-24 in the final seconds, Rhett Armstrong lined up for a 45-yard field goal, and Kansas blocked it. The loss ended Baylor’s 14-game winning streak over Kansas, dropped the Bears to 4-3, and turned out to be the last game of Dave Aranda’s run as head coach.
“Sources: Baylor has fired coach Dave Aranda,” wrote analyst Pete Thamel on X.
“Baylor defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will be Baylor’s interim coach, per ESPN sources,” Thamel further reported. The move came before Aranda could finish his seventh season. In an official statement, Baylor AD Dough McNamee praised Aranda for his contributions to the program.
Anyone who knows Dave Aranda understands what a genuine and honorable person he is and how much he deeply cares for his players, staff and this University,” McNamee said.
“He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories. While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program. We will forever be thankful to Dave and his family for their time at Baylor, and we wish them well.”
Aranda’s interim replacement, Klanderman, is in his first season at Baylor after working at Kansas State under Chris Klieman. His defense ranks No. 19 nationally in scoring, and he now has five regular-season games to lead the team, starting with UCF on Friday, October 30.
A win over Kansas would have made Baylor 5-2 and one victory short of bowl eligibility. Instead, it was the Bears’ second straight loss, after a 17-6 home defeat to TCU on October 17 that followed a 4-1 start. After the game, Aranda said Kansas runs a taxing offense that is hard to defend, and that his players got tired as it went on.
It was also their second straight loss, after a 17-6 home defeat to TCU on October 17 that followed a 4-1 start. After the game, Aranda said Kansas runs a taxing offense that is hard to defend, and that his players got tired as it went on.
“Aranda went 40-40 in his seven years at Baylor, which included a 12-2 Sugar Bowl season in 2021,” Thamel wrote, summing up his tenure in another X post.
That 2021 team won the Big 12 title and finished No. 5 in the final AP poll. Aranda, who is 50, was hired in 2020 from LSU, and Baylor was his first head coaching job. He went 26-32 in Big 12 play, and since then the Bears have had only one season with more than six wins.
“Baylor is expected to owe Dave Aranda around $12 million,” wrote Yahoo Sports reporter Ross Dellenger on X.
That sets up a coaching search, and three names stand out in coverage of the move: Jason Eck of New Mexico, G.J. Kinne of Texas State and Jake Dickert of Wake Forest.
Eck is the program builder of the group. New Mexico beat North Dakota State 21-16 on Saturday to improve to 6-1. He went 26-13 in three seasons at Idaho and was an offensive coordinator at South Dakota State before that. A former Wisconsin walk-on lineman, he is known for physical teams that win with limited resources.
Kinne is the offensive pick. A former Texas and Tulsa quarterback, he has gone 23-16 in three seasons at Texas State, and currently 4-3. For a program in Texas that wants a fresh offensive identity, he is an easy name to float.
Dickert brings a defensive background and experience at two hard places to win. He went 38-25 overall between Washington State and Wake Forest, and the Demon Deacons are 6-1 this season and ranked in the AP Top 25.
Eck and Dickert are both Wisconsin natives, which means they could draw interest from Big Ten schools too, so Baylor may not be the only one calling. With five games still left, the search will run while the season does.