Add Sonny Dykes to the list of coaches we do NOT want at Baylor.

boognish_bear said:

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NEW: Florida State University leadership is currently meeting over the future of head coach Mike Norvell, @PeteNakos & @Clowfb report.

Intel: https://t.co/GSiIe1gn5N pic.twitter.com/RcKhIPlPM8

— On3 (@On3) November 1, 2026

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Yep he's gone. It was just a matter of time.

FSU fired Norvell.

If Traylor comes to BU, he should interview Klan as DC.
Klan is ranked currently #44 Nationally in total D
Traylor's DC is ranked #104 in total D. Keep Klan!

Mike Norvell will be owed $50.3 million, which is subject to offset and mitigation. Per @aadelsonESPN, he just informed the team of his dismissal. pic.twitter.com/UdUVWWkfJJ

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 1, 2026

Realitybites said:

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Timbear said:

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If Traylor comes to BU, he should interview Klan as DC.
Klan is ranked currently #44 Nationally in total D
Traylor's DC is ranked #104 in total D. Keep Klan!

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We may have our HC as our interim right now.

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That idea should at least be on the table, depending on how we look at the next four weeks.

You could hire him cheap, would not need to give him a huge guarantee, would not have to buy out your whole staff, go spend money on your roster.

boognish_bear said:

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First Baylor game post-Dave Aranda is on now. I’ve got his successor, if you want to blow up half the sport. https://t.co/WemZ1W6Ip8

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) October 30, 2026

The carousel has finally begun to spin, with three head coach openings in the last week: Maryland, North Carolina State and Baylor. Losing to Rutgers, Stanford and Kansas, respectively, will get a man whacked.

Of the three jobs, The Dash would rank Baylor first. It sits deep in the heart of talent-rich Texas, has prominent alumni backing, is in a conference that allows for upward mobility and has had some recent success. Each of the last three coaches (the just-deposed Dave Aranda, Matt Rhule and Art Briles) had at least one 11-win season and a top 15 finish. You can reach the College Football Playoff from Waco, especially in the easy-button era that is to come.

Step one: Lincoln Riley to Baylor (11). Patience is expiring at USC, where Riley has failed to deliver on big expectations and a bigger salary. After a splashy first season in Los Angeles with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, Riley's Trojans have gone 3017 and failed to contend for anything. This was the No Excuses Season, with a talented roster and the Trojans ducking rival Notre Dame to soften up the schedule. Instead, USC has been beaten handily by a pretty good Wisconsin team and a wildly disappointing Oregon, with no quality wins to speak of and three top-10 opponents still to come. Making matters worse, Bob Chesney is making Riley look terrible across town at UCLA.

So it's time for Riley to look for a soft landing in his home state, and in a league where wide-open offense might better compensate for insufficient defense. Baylor fans loved the scoreboard-exploding Briles era (despite all the baggage that came with it), and Riley is a current extension of that football philosophy. Time to beat the posse out of L.A., Lincoln.

A competing domino theory sends Matt Rhule (12) back to Baylor, with fans at Nebraska eagerly helping Rhule pack. But even after the disappointments at USC, Riley is the more attractive choice than Rhule, whose post-Baylor record in the NFL and at Nebraska is 3548. With, as everyone knows, exactly zero notable victories.

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The ucla coach isn't making Riley look bad. Riley has done a lot of that on his own.
But I knew SC would dick around long enough that ucla would eventually make the "right" hire and worm their way back into the LA conversation.
But I guess we'll have to wait and see how ucla fares going forward. So far, so good.
Apparently the dude brought a bunch of his players with him from the east coast, so that comfort level was already built in before the season started.
Add to that what has been probably one of the easiest schedules in college ball this year. He couldn't have asked for a better scenario as a first year coach.
Oregon was their only quality win at the time, but we've seen how Oregon has laid an egg this year, so that win doesn't look as great now.
We'll see how they do against real competition as they move into the CFP.

I am all for giving Klandy a shot at earning the job...and he's off to a hell of start with his introductory press conference, road win over UCF, and getting an improved performance from Lagway. I'm pulling for him to earn it.

But... it's got to make the timing of this coaching search a little more challenging. I am assuming over the next month or so we will be holding interviews and kicking tires on candidates.

One good thing about the early firing is it gives us a jump on other schools that will also be looking for a coach. But...if we are playing some wait and see with Klandy over the last 4 games it seems like it could muddy the waters a little with getting a jump on a hot candidate.

I would hope we were even trying to get our hire nailed down in secret before the carousel really gets moving, which should be in the next couple of weeks if modern history is any guide. But who knows maybe the USC win over OhioSt caused us to have wasted a week.

boognish_bear said:

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I am all for giving Klandy a shot at earning the job...and he's off to a hell of start with his introductory press conference, road win over UCF, and getting an improved performance from Lagway. I'm pulling for him to earn it.

But... it's got to make the timing of this coaching search a little more challenging. I am assuming over the next month or so we will be holding interviews and kicking tires on candidates.

One good thing about the early firing is it gives us a jump on other schools that will also be looking for a coach. But...if we are playing some wait and see with Klandy over the last 4 games it seems like it could muddy the waters a little with getting a jump on a hot candidate.

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This is why I think Klanderman has to be a backup if our main targets don't pan out. If we don't have a hire by the end of the month, I feel like it's either Klanderman or someone nobody on the board has been predicting

Jon Gruden

JTM said:

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Jon Gruden

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He would bring "BETTER ****ING EXECUTION"!!!

NEW MEXICO IS 8-1 😤

The Lobos currently have the No. 1 scoring defense in FBS after their win against Nevada 😳

📸 @UNMLoboFB pic.twitter.com/ECZexP3mmE

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 7, 2026

If we have a shot at the NM coach. I'm not sure you pass that up to be honest. He could be another lightening in a bottle.

PartyBear said:

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If we have a shot at the NM coach. I'm not sure you pass that up to be honest. He could be another lightening in a bottle.

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I would be thrilled if we got him

PartyBear said:

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If we have a shot at the NM coach. I'm not sure you pass that up to be honest. He could be another lightening in a bottle.

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If so, hope we can keep him longer than our last go at a NM coach (Rudy Feldman). :-)

I don't know why espn decided to write and post that ridiculous "coaching list" for Baylor after aranda was canned.

It had lincoln riley on it, which is laughable. Whomever came up with that list is a dolt.

I prefer to like the idea of giving Klanderman a go at it - with an incentive laden contract.....NO GUARANTEED MILLIONS! I think he may just be the man for an incentive type contract.

Change the game/world Baylor. Make a statement that there is another way against the utter insanity the NCAA has created regarding coaching (and player) contracts!

BigSkyBear said:

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Just looking for discussion. A coordinator possibly?

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That would be a mistake.

I'm not too big on Traylor.

He is like the chick in high school that you didn't want to invite to prom bc you had your eye on someone else, but you waited too long and then she was all that was left.

Ewalker80 said:

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Klan will be in very high demand as a DC if he doesn't take a HC job.

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I would love to have him as DC. But he can go to a G5 (or lower) school for his first HC job.

We don't need more on the job training.

jikespingleton said:

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I'm not too big on Traylor.

He is like the chick in high school that you didn't want to invite to prom bc you had your eye on someone else, but you waited too long and then she was all that was left.

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Dude is 60. College football for the most part is not an old man program anymore.

I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

Timbear said:

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I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

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I'll be sold on all those things when we beat one or two of these upcoming opponents that we're really not supposed to beat on paper.

johnnychimpo said:

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jikespingleton said:

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I'm not too big on Traylor.

He is like the chick in high school that you didn't want to invite to prom bc you had your eye on someone else, but you waited too long and then she was all that was left.

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Dude is 60. College football for the most part is not an old man program anymore.

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There are people on the premium board that would give their left nut for Willie Fritz, who's like 66. There are some coaches that want to smoke a brisket for 24 hours, but all you have time for in modern football is cooking a frozen pizza for 12 minutes. Some older coaches can't adapt to that, but some younger Ish ones can't either (Matt rule comes to mind.)

Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

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I'll be sold on all those things when we beat one or two of these upcoming opponents that we're really not supposed to beat on paper.

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I would agree, but should the goalposts be moved to only hire a current coaching candidate who has beaten, this year, 2-3 top 10 or top 15 teams, In A Row?!? That's ridiculous.
What other current Baylor coaching candidate being considered right now, could do that? Nobody!
The stupid incompetent Aranda has warped us all So Bad that we're totally unreasonable.

Timbear said:

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Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

---

I'll be sold on all those things when we beat one or two of these upcoming opponents that we're really not supposed to beat on paper.

---

I would agree, but should the goalposts be moved to only hire a current coaching candidate who has beaten, this year, 2-3 top 10 or top 15 teams, In A Row?!? That's ridiculous.
What other current Baylor coaching candidate being considered right now, could do that? Nobody!
The stupid incompetent Aranda has warped us all So Bad that we're totally unreasonable.

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I'm definitely not under the delusion that we're hiring somebody who's gotten multiple top 20 wins under his belt this year. But I think we can do better than a coordinator whose qualifications are basically that he's nice and energetic and improved our defense or whatever. Like I said, if he can beat one of BYU/tech, I'll probably be sold.

Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

---

I'll be sold on all those things when we beat one or two of these upcoming opponents that we're really not supposed to beat on paper.

---

I would agree, but should the goalposts be moved to only hire a current coaching candidate who has beaten, this year, 2-3 top 10 or top 15 teams, In A Row?!? That's ridiculous.
What other current Baylor coaching candidate being considered right now, could do that? Nobody!
The stupid incompetent Aranda has warped us all So Bad that we're totally unreasonable.

---

I'm definitely not under the delusion that we're hiring somebody who's gotten multiple top 20 wins under his belt this year. But I think we can do better than a coordinator whose qualifications are basically that he's nice and energetic and improved our defense or whatever. Like I said, if he can beat one of BYU/tech, I'll probably be sold.

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I won't be sold on klanderman unless he wins all 3. I would consider him at 2 but 1 win when you're a 7 point dog doesn't erase all the uncertainty of never having been a coach before. That means tons more now than it even did 6 years ago. It's now being the CEO of a professional sports organization as well as being a ball coach.

Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

---

I'll be sold on all those things when we beat one or two of these upcoming opponents that we're really not supposed to beat on paper.

---

I would agree, but should the goalposts be moved to only hire a current coaching candidate who has beaten, this year, 2-3 top 10 or top 15 teams, In A Row?!? That's ridiculous.
What other current Baylor coaching candidate being considered right now, could do that? Nobody!
The stupid incompetent Aranda has warped us all So Bad that we're totally unreasonable.

---

I'm definitely not under the delusion that we're hiring somebody who's gotten multiple top 20 wins under his belt this year. But I think we can do better than a coordinator whose qualifications are basically that he's nice and energetic and improved our defense or whatever. Like I said, if he can beat one of BYU/tech, I'll probably be sold.

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I hope so. Please Never say the word Nice again when referring to a Baylor coach. He's changed everything about a team that was headed to 4-8, in his first 2days.
Also, he retained All but ONE Commit.
Rah rah is Rhule not Kland
Nice is Dave not Kland. Klan is nice about being Alpha.
Improved the D is going from 110th to 95th. Kland has taken the D from 110th to 17th. Just saying. Team wise, Baylor and BYU are more similar than different.
Would any current coaching candidate be doing any better or as good as Kland?
Everyone is waiting to see if Kland can take a Dave Aranda disaster and beat the #10 team in the Nation who has beaten a top 5 team already this year. Whew. That goal post is 20' high.

Timbear said:

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Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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Billy Bolls said:

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Timbear said:

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I challenge anyone to name even ONE aspect of or objective that a successful HC exhibits and performs that Kland is not doing. He:
Organizes,
Game plans,
Communicates exceptionally well before, during and after games.
Motivates the players mentally and physically ,
Excellent pregame prep,
Proven ability to make in game adjustments ,
Is a player's coach while establishing a tough no nonsense culture.
2-0 against teams coming off of their best performance.
Allowing himself and other players and coaches to be on multiple talk shows to talk about this amazing place called Baylor.

---

I'll be sold on all those things when we beat one or two of these upcoming opponents that we're really not supposed to beat on paper.

---

I would agree, but should the goalposts be moved to only hire a current coaching candidate who has beaten, this year, 2-3 top 10 or top 15 teams, In A Row?!? That's ridiculous.
What other current Baylor coaching candidate being considered right now, could do that? Nobody!
The stupid incompetent Aranda has warped us all So Bad that we're totally unreasonable.

---

I'm definitely not under the delusion that we're hiring somebody who's gotten multiple top 20 wins under his belt this year. But I think we can do better than a coordinator whose qualifications are basically that he's nice and energetic and improved our defense or whatever. Like I said, if he can beat one of BYU/tech, I'll probably be sold.

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I hope so. Please Never say the word Nice again when referring to a Baylor coach. He's changed everything about a team that was headed to 4-8, in his first 2days.
Also, he retained All but ONE Commit.
Rah rah is Rhule not Kland
Nice is Dave not Kland. Klan is nice about being Alpha.
Improved the D is going from 110th to 95th. Kland has taken the D from 110th to 17th. Just saying. Team wise, Baylor and BYU are more similar than different.
Would any current coaching candidate be doing any better or as good as Kland?
Everyone is waiting to see if Kland can take a Dave Aranda disaster and beat the #10 team in the Nation who has beaten a top 5 team already this year. Whew. That goal post is 20' high.

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RIght now it's just a small amount of data to conclude that he can build a program with sustained success, given we have only played two mid teams. Of course if he comes out and they start upsetting the top teams in the conference you have to strongly consider him. If he wins all three and goes to the championship game I don't think there's any chance you don't hire him. We're just getting way ahead of ourselves. statistically the chances of us winning all three games right now are probably something like 3%. I think if he beats BYU you're looking at more like 25% to win the remaining games, so that's a chance that's worth talking about. [and here I am talking about the 3% chance]

No one has mentioned Charles Huff at Memphis since we have had an opening. He seems he would be a prospect.