While it’s no secret that Baylor‘s Dave Aranda has been a frequent occupier of the hot seat since the conclusion of the 2023 football season, the Bears head coach was joined by one of his Big 12 colleagues in a recent hot seat rankings list.
CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd listed both Dave Aranda and BYU‘s Kalani Sitake as members to watch on the hot seat, with both coaches in dire need of success in 2024.
“Less than two seasons ago, Aranda was hot, and Baylor was hotter,” Dodd said about Dave Aranda. “In his second season, Aranda won the Big 12 as the Bears won 12 games overall, including the Sugar Bowl. Since then, Baylor is 9-16. Another sub-500 season probably won’t be tolerated. Aranda was forced to reshape the staff in the offseason. For the third time in five years, he has a new set of coordinators. Aranda is back to calling the defense. Former Texas State coach Jake Spavital is running the offense, but his units haven’t finished above 85th nationally since 2018.”
Many in the college football community, including On3’s Andy Staples, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, and even several notable sportsbooks, have openly discussed the likelihood of Dave Aranda being fired as Baylor’s head coach. After losing four straight games in the previous season, BetOnline even gave Aranda the best odds to be the next head coach fired during the Bears’ 2023 campaign.
“Did the Big 12 expose BYU, or was 2023 a dip in the Cougars’ fortunes? This season will go a long way toward answering that question,” Dodd mentioned. “BYU gave Sitake a contract extension in 2021 (through 2027) after a 29-9 run from 2018-20. The Cougars promptly went 5-7 in their first season in the Big 12, beating only three FBS teams. Without Texas and Oklahoma, the league is wide open. BYU is being mentioned nowhere near the top of contention. Since going 11-1 in 2020, the Cougars have declined each of the next three seasons. Beating Arizona and Oklahoma State at home in back-to-back October weeks seems like a must.”
While Kalani Sitake is a relatively new name on the hot seat list, his first season in the Big 12 didn’t help his resume. The Cougars finished with a 5-7 record, missing bowl eligibility, and if this trend continues to 2024, Sitake could find himself on thin ice.
With Big 12 Media Days officially in the rearview mirror, Sitake and Aranda are entering the final few months of the offseason before getting their shot at redemption in the fall.
