Baylor Fires Dave Aranda, Names Klanderman Interim — SkimNews
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- Baylor fired football coach Dave Aranda on Sunday after a second straight defeat and a 4-3 start, with athletic director Doug McNamee making the move one day after the loss to Kansas.
- Kansas earned its first Big 12 win of the season and ended a 14-game losing streak against Baylor that dated back to 2007.
- Joe Klanderman, Baylor's defensive coordinator in his first season after arriving from Kansas State, will serve as interim coach.
- Dave Aranda went 40-40 in seven years in Waco; his 2021 Baylor team went 12-2, won the Big 12 championship and won a Sugar Bowl before Baylor went 8-5 in 2024 and 5-7 last year.
- Dave Aranda was popular with Baylor's administration but admitted being slow to adapt to the NIL era; at 2024 Big 12 media days, when asked about recruiting momentum, he said, "We're paying players."
- Mack Rhoades resigned as Baylor's athletic director on Nov. 20 for personal reasons; the next day, Baylor president Linda Livingstone said Aranda would return despite his hot-seat status, citing "financial stewardship" around "extreme volatility in college athletics."
Why it matters: Baylor has handed a 4-3 program to first-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman for its final three Big 12 games. Aranda exits after a 40-40 seven-year tenure whose lone 12-2 peak came in 2021, while Baylor’s two later completed seasons produced 8-5 and 5-7.
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