Baylor Fires Dave Aranda: Joe Klanderman Takes Over as Interim Coach With a Friday Night Trip to UCF and Five Games to Audition

By Mac Rivera, RF Sports Radio Baylor voice

Bears fans, the blocked kick at Kansas was not the end of the bad news. Baylor has fired Dave Aranda, and the program is starting over in the middle of the season.

The facts

Baylor relieved Aranda of his duties as head coach on Sunday, athletic director Doug McNamee announced, per Baylor Athletics. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. The move came a day after a 25-24 loss at Kansas, when Blake Herold blocked a 45-yard field goal with 22 seconds left. That loss ended Baylor's 14-game winning streak in the series and dropped the Bears to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12.

"He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories," McNamee said. "While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program."

Aranda took over in 2020 and led Baylor to the 2021 Big 12 title and a Sugar Bowl win, but had just one winning season after that and finishes 40-40, per the Associated Press. The AP notes the program tried to turn things around this year by hiring Klanderman from Kansas State to call the defense and adding transfer quarterback DJ Lagway.

Klanderman built top-30 defenses at Kansas State in each of his five seasons running that unit and won four national titles at North Dakota State, per Baylor. The Bears rank third nationally in sacks and 19th in scoring defense.

Baylor plays at UCF on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Central on ESPN. UCF (4-3, 2-2) is coming off a 39-31 double-overtime win over then-No. 2 BYU, per the AP. Baylor hosts Iowa State for homecoming on Nov. 7.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: this was the right call, and it was coming. Aranda is a good man and a great defensive mind, and nobody should forget 2021. But one winning season in four years after a conference title is not good enough in this league, and losing to Kansas for the first time since 2007 was the last straw.

The timing is the smart part. Klanderman has five games to show he can lead a room, and his defense is the one part of this team that works. If Baylor wins three of these five, he goes from interim coach to real candidate.

The bigger question is the search. Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News wrote that finding the replacement will not be easy, and I agree. Baylor has to decide if it is willing to spend like the top of the Big 12. If it is not, this happens again in four years.

My call: Baylor plays inspired football in Orlando and wins, 27-24. That is a prediction, not a report.

What to watch next

Klanderman's first press conference, who calls the offense the rest of the year, and whether Lagway responds. Kickoff Friday is 6:30 p.m. Central on ESPN. For the blocked-kick loss at Kansas, read Mac's Oct. 25 column on the blocked kick at Kansas, and follow the Baylor Football page through the coaching search.

Radio question: should Joe Klanderman be a real candidate for the full-time job, or does Baylor need a big outside name?

Sources: Baylor Athletics - Baylor announces change in football leadership; NBC Sports / AP - Baylor fires Dave Aranda after Kansas loss, names Joe Klanderman interim coach; Baylor Athletics - Football continues road swing at UCF on Friday night.