Breaking: Baylor To Hire TCU's Paul Gonzales As Cornerbacks Coach

Baylor football is expected to hire TCU's Paul Gonzales as its new cornerbacks coach, SicEm365 has learned. Gonzales will also hold the defensive passing game coordinator title.

Gonzales has coached TCU's safeties since 2018 after serving as the Horned Frogs cornerbacks coach the previous three seasons from 2015-2017. In his time coaching safeties at TCU, Gonzales mentored six eventual NFL players.

Highlighting his time with the Horned Frogs, Gonzales coached Tre'von Moehrig, who won the 2020 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back. He was named to seven All-America teams and was a second-round draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Jeremy Clark, 247Sports

Baylor football is expected to hire TCU’s Paul Gonzales as its new cornerbacks coach, SicEm365 has learned.

Gonzales also made an immediate impact in his debut campaign with the cornerbacks in 2015, as the position was instrumental in the Horned Frogs ranking first in the Big 12 in opponent completion percentage (49.8) and fewest touchdown passes allowed (17). TCU was second in the conference in pass efficiency defense (112.6).

The 2016 campaign saw Gonzales coach Ranthony Texada into a second-team Associated Press All-Big 12 selection. Texada earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2017 while also being named to multiple All-America teams. He was a free-agent signee by the Washington Redskins.

Gonzales was hired as a graduate assistant by former TCU head coach Gary Patterson in 2012. Patterson served as Baylor's senior-level strategic consultant in the 2024 offseason.

The hiring comes a week after the program parted ways with cornerbacks coach Kevin Curtis, who spent four seasons at BU.

Baylor's secondary struggled for much of the 2024 season and was 11th in the Big 12 in pass defense, allowing over 230 yards through the air per game. Following a 44-31 loss to LSU in the Texas Bowl, head coach Dave Aranda discussed the cornerbacks, saying, "It's got to start with attention to detail, and it has to start with a stronger care factor."

"In my mind, that's the group right there that's got to take the biggest step forward," Aranda later added. "You look at our O-line, you look at our receivers, you look at our quarterback play, all of it has been under adversity at some point this year, and we're able to turn the corner. We were just not able to do that with this particular group. "

Caden Jenkins (So.), Reggie Bush II (RSo.), LeVar Thornton (RFr.) and Tevin Williams III (RJr.) are set to return in 2025. Still, the Bears are expected to pursue cornerbacks in the transfer portal to replace Lorando Johnson (5Sr.) and Chateau Reed (RSr.). 

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