We all know Dave Aranda, the head coach who led Baylor to an unprecedented 12-win season in 2021 and LSU to their 2019 national title. It was fitting for the guy who has shown the college football world a different approach to coaching. He’s not your usual coach, who screams and beats his chest on the sidelines when things go south. It’s probably more likely that you would find him opening a book and finding a magic play that could turn things around. And that has probably to do with his background and the journey he took.

Dave played as a linebacker in high school, but a long-term shoulder injury in just his sophomore year was enough to derail his college football plans. But the now-Baylor head coach was persistent and gradually dug his way to becoming the defensive genius he is today. “To this day, he has a spiral notebook at this time full of Xs and Os.” Miguel Olmeda, Dave’s high school coach, told Si.com. So, that knack to become a football nerd and the hunger to find his destination most unconventionally were fueled by his parents from quite early on.

Who are Dave Aranda’s parents?

Dave Aranda was born on September 29, 1976, in Kern County, California. His parents, Paul and Marguerite Aranda, were immigrants from Guadalajara, Mexico. It wasn’t easy for them at the time, as Paul worked at a prison parole board and Marguerite had a job at a Social Security office. Dave, in his interview with Si.com, recalled how hard his parents worked and how he would spend hours at the YMCA after school due to their long workdays.

“We didn’t have a lot of money. I just remember all the different people who are hanging out at the YMCA during the day. There would be so many different groups of people: the headbangers, the people who would study, the jocks, andthe Mexican guys who didn’t speak English. I knew all of those people and could talk to them. I was really quiet always, but could talk to them all. I cherished that experience,” recalled Dave Aranda.

Those long YMCA visits and spending long hours with so many diverse people are probably the reason why Arnada became a keen observer and mastered communication, a crucial trait in any coaching job. It’s already a herculean challenge to learn the intricacies of coaching after having full professional careers. But Dave? He learned it all himself, often sitting for long hours in a California library, as he said. Then it also helped that Arnada became a philosophy major later in his career. However, long before that, his father was busy shaping his career.

All about Paul Aranda & Marguerite Aranda?

Apart from Dave, Paul, and Marguerite also had another son, Mike, who also found his own coaching trajectory and now coaches basketball. As for Dave’s dad, Paul, he passed away in 2023 after battling pancreatic cancer, and that left the Baylor head coach intensely emotional. Even then, he chose to appear in Big 12 Media Days, and after answering the regular questions on the team, he talked fondly about his dad.

“I went and saw my Dad when I first heard he had cancer, and my Dad and I have always had a great relationship. I told him that I loved him, and he didn’t say it back. I didn’t know if he heard me. So I wanted to go to him and say it to him face-to-face, and I was able to do that. He gave me a big hug, you know? And he kept really strong. And he told me that he loved me. I’m so glad that we had that moment, because I know a lot of folks don’t have that,” said an emotional Dave Aranda as he coped with his father’s loss.

Before working at the Bureau of Prisons, Paul also earned a bachelor’s degree in history and then a master’s in counseling psychology from UCLA. Not just that, Dave’s father was an avid academic, as he went on to earn another degree in public administration and also co-edited and published “Latino Mental Health: Bibliography and Abstracts.” Dave’s father was a pivotal figure and shaped much of his early childhood and even later. And while he may not be with us now, his teachings and morals live on with Dave.