Baylor’s coaching search was barely a day old when a familiar name stepped forward, and he did not even try to play it coy. He also came with a few opinions about who else deserves a look.
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“If Baylor wants to get back to winning and have a university that isn’t just respectable on the football field, but one the fans can be proud of, they need people who know what it looks like to win at Baylor,” said FOX’s analyst Robert Griffin III on the Dan Patrick Show.
Patrick asked him directly if he was interested in coaching his alma mater. “Yes, 100%,” Baylor alum Griffin said. He added that he has spoken with athletic director Doug McNamee, who he described as someone who knows what it takes to win and recruit at Baylor.
The opening came Sunday, when Baylor fired Dave Aranda a day after a 25-24 road loss to Kansas. The Bears were 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12. Aranda finished 40-40 in seven seasons. After his firing, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reported that his buyout is about $12 million, since his 2022 extension ran through 2029.
The Kansas loss snapped a 14-game winning streak for Baylor in the series, which started in 2007. It followed a 17-6 home loss to TCU. All three of Baylor’s losses this season came by a combined 13 points, including Auburn 17-16.
Griffin did not stop at his own name and further said he would also back Boise State’s Spencer Danielson, calling him a “top-notch coach” who knows how to win. He called UTSA’s Jeff Traylor “a great option” and named USC’s Lincoln Riley as a dark horse.
On Riley, Griffin said USC would likely need some money back to let him leave, and Baylor probably does not have the funds to make the Trojans whole.
“But I think that would be a move that would be advantageous for both parties,” he said. “You don’t have to have experience coaching at the highest level to be successful.”
“I’m just tired of seeing Baylor be the stepping stone or the stepchild to all these other teams,” Griffin added. “We should be back on top.”
McNamee’s statement after the firing was respectful. He called Aranda a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind. But he also said, “We believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program.”
Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, in his first season at Baylor after coming from Kansas State, will serve as interim head coach. But it is not clear whether Baylor will settle for him only as a full-timer. He takes over a team that still has a tough stretch ahead, with a game at BYU, a home game against Texas Tech and a trip to Houston.
In any case, the search is on, and McNamee will decide who gets the call.
But Baylor is not alone in this market, as Maryland recently parted ways with Mike Locksley, and NC State with Dave Doeren after a loss to Stanford on October 23.