Baylor football coach Dave Aranda is living the reality that just about every college football coach goes through at some point — the hot seat.
Remember when Baylor was 11-2 and won the Big 12 title? Of course. That was just two years ago.
Since then? Baylor barely made a bowl game in 2022 and then went 3-9 last season.
Aranda has been slow to change, and he’ll freely admit it. The transfer portal. Name, Image and Likeness money. Crafting the program to fit his players.
If one were to look at Baylor going into this season, it appears that Aranda has not only embraced change, but has fast-tracked it.
He said at Big 12 Media Days that “he learned his lesson.”
“We’re fully invested now in the transfer portal,” Aranda said. “We’re fully invested with name, image, and likeness. I’m fully invested in football, which I think is probably the number one thing.”
Fully invested in football makes it sound like Aranda had checked out. That wasn’t the case. But he swung to one side, a CEO head coach that means he’s running the program but leaving the day-to-day coaching to his assistants.
He ultimately felt that didn’t work for him. Hiring former Texas State coach Jake Spavital to run the offense is one thing. But Aranda decided that he had to re-embed himself in the day-to-day. So, this year he’ll call his own defensive plays and will coach the linebackers.
“I just think I am at my best when I am all the way through a technique or all the way about a scheme, all the way to the depths of it,” he said. “And then when I come back up, I can speak really strongly about it and I can own it. And then if it don’t look right, I can get mad at it and get it so it’s right. And that’s a big change.”
He said the Bears used the portal more this year, specifically to improve the offensive line, and admitted it was something the program probably should have done last year. He said last year’s group was “too young” and probably “shouldn’t have been playing” in 2023.
He’s also appreciative to the Baylor community for boosting the program’s NIL efforts, which led to his “we’re paying players” comment in Las Vegas.
“(We have) the NIL money to win some of these recruiting battles and close it out, whereas a year ago that was not the case,” Aranda said.
The good news is Aranda has evolved. The question is whether it will be enough to get him another year in Waco?
The Bears also tapped the portal for new quarterback Dequan Finn, a Toledo transfer who the Bears hope can stabilize the position. Six starters are back, including running back Richard Reese and each of the top four pass catchers.
Aranda’s return to calling defensive plays may be well founded. The Bears allowed 33.3 points per game last season. Seven defensive starters are back, which includes last year’s leading tackler and sixth-year player, linebacker Matt Jones. Caden Jenkins, a freshman All-American, is back to lead the secondary.
The Bears host Tarleton on Aug. 31 to open non-conference, followed by a trip to Utah on Sept. 7 in a previously-scheduled non-conference game. Air Force wraps up non-conference on Sept. 14 in Waco.
Big 12 play starts on Sept. 21 at Colorado, after which Baylor hosts BYU on Sept. 28.
The Bears then go to Iowa State on Oct. 5 and Texas Tech on Oct. 12, followed by hosting Oklahoma State on Oct. 26.
Baylor hosts TCU on Nov. 2 to start the final stretch, after which the Bears travel to West Virginia on Nov. 16. After another trip to Houston on Nov. 23, the Bears hosts Kansas on Nov. 30.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
