Baylor fires Dave Aranda after Kansas loss, names defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman interim coach
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Baylor fired coach Dave Aranda on Sunday after more than six seasons and promoted defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Aranda’s dismissal came a day after Baylor lost to Kansas 25-24 to fall to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks earned their first win over Baylor since 2007, ending a 14-game losing skid to the Bears when Blake Herold blocked a field-goal attempt in the final minute.
Aranda took over the Baylor program in 2020 after serving as defensive coordinator on LSU’s undefeated 2019 national championship team.
He led the Bears to the Big 12 championship and a Sugar Bowl victory in 2021, but he couldn’t maintain that success. Baylor has just one winning season since then, and Aranda leaves with a 40-40 record.
Aranda had been under pressure to turn things around in his seventh season. Part of that effort was hiring Klanderman from Kansas State to take over the defensive play-calling. The Bears also signed quarterback DJ Lagway, the Florida transfer from Texas whose dad, Derek Lagway, was a Baylor running back a quarter-century ago.
Not long after the Big 12 championship, Aranda had his contract extended through 2029. According to multiple reports, his buyout is $12 million. Baylor is a private school that isn’t required to release contract details.
Aranda was under fire during the season last year, when former athletic director Mack Rhoades resigned for personal reasons. At the time, university president Linda Livingstone said the school was keeping Aranda in 2026, while saying that a review of the football program had been underway and that she understood the decision to keep him would “generate strong opinions.”
Doug McNamee, Rhoades’ replacement, called the decision to fire Aranda a “difficult moment.”
“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.”
Baylor plays at UCF, which on Saturday knocked off then-No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double overtime, on Friday.
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