Timbear said:

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Baylor's a step up. Make the call.

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During the Briles era it clearly had become one. Today, with all that has transpired, I am not so sure.

Not 100% sure that Danielson would leave what he is building at Boise State to come.

I simply don't get the hype for Traylor. I'm getting some big time Billy Napier vibes from him. People see a 7-1 record, I see a team squeaking by one score victories. There will be a regression to the mean, and those sixth place finishes seem to be a more realistic outlook to me.

JudgeBear1845 said:

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/college-sports/12-candidates-for-baylor-football-coaching-search-after-dave-aranda-firing/ar-AA2g2vx6?ocid=socialshare&uxmode=ruby

SI: 12 candidates for Baylor football coaching search after Dave Aranda firing

Jake Dickert, Wake Forest
Dickert will be on the list of just about every Power 4 opening after winning in places off the beaten path. He's positioned the Demon Deacons into playoff contention out of the ACC and would have access to more resources at Baylor than he would at Wake Forest. With Wisconsin looking unlikely to come open, this could be a great long-term fit between one of the best young coaches in the game and a school looking to elevate itself.

Lincoln Riley, USC
It's pretty clear Riley's time in Los Angeles is over and the fit just hasn't worked out well with the Trojans. Could this be the kind of soft landing spot that allows him to skip town and save face? It would be a return to his Texas roots and his offense will give Bears fans something to enjoy after so many years of difficult to watch football. It's clear Lincoln Riley won't be in Los Angeles long term, so a move to Baylor or another program seems to be in the cards.

Jeff Traylor, UTSA
If you had to take some wagers on who lands the Baylor job, Traylor may actually be the odds-on favorite. He's been terrific down the road in San Antonio and has connections all over the state as a former high school coach who was a consistent winner. He'll fit right in with the Bears and give them a bit of an edge they've been lacking in a job he'll surely covet.

Jason Eck, New Mexico
Eck is going to get a call from every school this cycle after winning at New Mexico and getting the Lobos firmly into the Group of 6 discussion. He's got a much more outgoing personality than Aranda and the creativity he brings on the offensive end will be well received at Baylor.

Dan Mullen, UNLV
If you want a 180 from the guy you're replacing, that's Mullen. He's loud and talkative, a bit brash and loves to dial up big plays offensively. He'll need to be paired with a strong front office setup but this is the kind of needle-moving job he would jump all over.

Lance Taylor, Western Michigan
Though the Alabama native hasn't coached in the state of Texas, he's proven to be adaptable and capable of winning anywhere he's at. The Baylor administration would be thrilled to get someone of his character and his energy would be infectious in terms of helping turn the program around.

G.J. Kinne, Texas State
Another Group of 6 coach with deep ties to the state, Kinne will at the very least garner an interview with Baylor. He's an offensive mind who can be a little brash, but that seems just what the Bears should be looking for to provide a shot of adrenaline for the program.

Spencer Danielson, Boise State
Few coaches wear their faith on their sleeve like Danielson and that is an important thing at Baylor. Of course, he also wins a ton of games and seems ready to make the move up to the Power 4 level as well and quality recruiting ties to the state of Texas over the years will certainly help his case, too. Boise State coach Spencer Danielson is ready to move up to the Power 4 ranks.

Todd Whitten, Tarleton State
If the program is opting for an experienced hand in the state, Whitten would qualify after guiding the Texans to the top of the polls in the FCS. He's coached all over and won at multiple levels so he will definitely be on Baylor's radar even if he's not right at the top of the list.

Shannon Dawson, Miami offensive coordinator
The Louisiana native will be selective in terms of the number of jobs he goes after, but Baylor makes lots of mutual sense. He's developed one of the best offenses in the country the last few years and knows how to recruit and nurture a good quarterback, which will go a long way if he's in the mix for Baylor.

Blake Baker, LSU defensive coordinator
Baker stuck around for another year in Baton Rouge but was very nearly a head coach last cycle. This would be just the type of Power 4 opening that could get him to leave. There might be some hesitation in hiring another LSU defensive coordinator if you're Baylor, but Baker's ready for a top job.

Josh McCown, Vikings QB coach
The East Texas native has connections all over the state and has made a name for himself as a coach the last few years in the NFL that he's gotten a few interviews to become a head coach. His personality and offensive background line up with what Baylor will be looking for to replace Aranda and he'll be on the radar if he wants to leave the pros for a quality job in the college ranks.

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Wasn't McCown being lightly considered for some role with the Texans when that weird-ass Jack Easterby was mucking up things with the Texans behind the scenes in the early 2020s?

Understand that they made a jump up in conference which preceded the two 7 win seasons. He also has publicly stated their NIL Budget is near last in the American.

Elite Texas HS recruiter, Southern Baptist, Culture Builder, a winner, and not someone to leave for the next big thing.

A Lincoln Riley type would leave as soon as the SEC came calling.

Bearsalways said:

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This would be under the circumstance GJ is fired.

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And how's that last fired Texas State head coach working out as OC?

Traylor coached both GJ and Josh McCown. Also, Josh's nephew is currently UTSAs QB.

Just an interesting note.

Basically to me the candidates should be, and not necessarily in this particular order.

Traylor
Dickert
Eck
Boise State HC

Again this is just a random order. I do not have them listed in a personal preference order here. I just think the above would potentially get us above .500 rather quickly.

The Western Michigan guy is in year 4 and is about .500 there right now. His resume is too short and too average right now to get excited about.

PartyBear said:

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Basically to me the candidates should be not necessarily in this order, these are just the list of good reasonable candidates who I think may improve us to be above .500 and quickly.


Traylor
Dickert
Eck
Boise State HC

The Western Michigan guy is in year 4 and is about .500 there right now. His resume is too short and too average right now to get excited about.

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And yet you think Traylor is a serious candidate? He's fool's gold.

CaliBear00 said:

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PartyBear said:

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Basically to me the candidates should be not necessarily in this order, these are just the list of good reasonable candidates who I think may improve us to be above .500 and quickly.


Traylor
Dickert
Eck
Boise State HC

The Western Michigan guy is in year 4 and is about .500 there right now. His resume is too short and too average right now to get excited about.

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And yet you think Traylor is a serious candidate? He's fool's gold.

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If you are talking about his luster. I agree it is not what it was a few years ago.

But no I do not know who the serious candidates actually are. We may have no serious candidate as of this morning since the job opened only 24 hours ago. I have spoken with no one about it. Have you?

We'd better be on it. There are two other openings out there and only so many good candidates.

If it were three it would be no issue. When it becomes concerning will be when ten or twelve open up and one or two big ones at which time the carousel starts. 12 openings then turns into 24 new coaches with backfills

UTSA has a bye week. If Doug is smart he should be gauging Traylor's interest this week

Timbear said:

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Please no retreads like Riley, Rhule, Dabo, etc who come from a failed job. Rhule failed at Panthers and Nebraska. Riley failed at USC and only scored 7 against Wisconsin.
Who have SEC and Big 10 schools hired.? GROUP of 6 HC's.
Florida, Auburn, UCLA

Please no Coordinators.
Please no D minded coaches.
Boise State is ranked, Baylor's a step up. Make the call.

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I'd take Rhule back, but he'd be my third choice after Traylor and Danielson.

Dickert at Wake Forest would be my top overall choice, but I think he's probably coached his way out of our league.

I agree with you completely on Riley and Swinney, though. No interest whatsoever.

bear2be2 said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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I simply don't get the hype for Traylor. I'm getting some big time Billy Napier vibes from him. People see a 7-1 record, I see a team squeaking by one score victories. There will be a regression to the mean, and those sixth place finishes seem to be a more realistic outlook to me.

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Jeff Traylor's winning percentage at UTSA is 140 points higher than Briles' was at Houston when we hired him.

And he's got a chance this year to win his third conference title in his second league in a seven-year head coaching tenure that features zero losing seasons. He also had zero losing seasons in building a Gilmer a program that was nothing when he got there into a perennial state title contender during his high school days.

I frankly don't understand how any Baylor fan wouldn't be elated to have a coach like Jeff Traylor. The dude is an absolute winner and would represent our program well in the process.

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I like coaches who win at every level as a head coach as they move up the ranks!

bear2be2 said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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I simply don't get the hype for Traylor. I'm getting some big time Billy Napier vibes from him. People see a 7-1 record, I see a team squeaking by one score victories. There will be a regression to the mean, and those sixth place finishes seem to be a more realistic outlook to me.

---

Jeff Traylor's winning percentage at UTSA is 140 points higher than Briles' was at Houston when we hired him.

And he's got a chance this year to win his third conference title in his second league in a seven-year head coaching tenure that features zero losing seasons. He also had zero losing seasons in building a Gilmer a program that was nothing when he got there into a perennial state title contender during his high school days.

I frankly don't understand how any Baylor fan wouldn't be elated to have a coach like Jeff Traylor. The dude is an absolute winner and would represent our program well in the process.

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Jason Eck is far more impressive to me. Anyone who can win in places like Idaho and New Mexico would do wonders at Baylor. Another Matt Rhule type of hire. Baylor leadership needs to think outside the box. Texas ties are overrated.

AC/DC said:

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canoso said:

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Bearsalways said:

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Need someone with Texas HS ties, Christian, culture builder, and a proven HC. Also, someone who won't be looking for the next best thing.

There's one man that fits this mold better than anyone else.

Baylor don't mess this up.

#TraylorToBaylor

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Another plus for Traylor IMO is his age. We worry about some younger ladder climber who'd leave quickly (a la Rhule) instead of building a strong program. I think Traylor would be happy/satisfied at Baylor the rest of his career given a successful tenure.

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Not being argumentative, based on what? If he came, developed, and had real success at a "Baylor" other institutions may be calling offering better… well, everything, that Baylor can't or won't. Competitive HC's believe in themselves and Baylor truly has a ceiling. There are no longer any Teaff's to go around.

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His age. Reading a comment before one comments on it is never a bad thing. Every chance one gets.

bear2be2 said:

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Ewalker80 said:

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Have any of the former boise coaches done well when going to the next level? I remember Harsin being a hot name but never doing well. It's so hard to judge someone's coaching when they are the biggest fish in their pond --- this is the lincoln riley issue. He has all the tailwind when he took over and has never shown that he can punch above his weight class. Give me a Chris Kliemann arc any day over that.

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Harsin is/was a good coach. Auburn was just a disastrous fit, and he was basically undermined by their boosters upon arrival.

And Chris Petersen was a damn good coach at Washington.

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Chris Peterson deserves consideration, if he's interested in returning to coaching.

rg3 might be an interesting comeback.

CaliBear00 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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I simply don't get the hype for Traylor. I'm getting some big time Billy Napier vibes from him. People see a 7-1 record, I see a team squeaking by one score victories. There will be a regression to the mean, and those sixth place finishes seem to be a more realistic outlook to me.

---

Jeff Traylor's winning percentage at UTSA is 140 points higher than Briles' was at Houston when we hired him.

And he's got a chance this year to win his third conference title in his second league in a seven-year head coaching tenure that features zero losing seasons. He also had zero losing seasons in building a Gilmer a program that was nothing when he got there into a perennial state title contender during his high school days.

I frankly don't understand how any Baylor fan wouldn't be elated to have a coach like Jeff Traylor. The dude is an absolute winner and would represent our program well in the process.

---

Jason Eck is far more impressive to me. Anyone who can win in places like Idaho and New Mexico would do wonders at Baylor. Another Matt Rhule type of hire. Baylor leadership needs to think outside the box. Texas ties are overrated.

---

Jason Eck isn't coming to Baylor. First, he'll have better opportunities after this season. Second, it's not a personality fit. Eck's a wildcard, and we don't hire wildcards.

Eck's a great coach, but his next job will almost certainly be in the Big Ten.

tmcats said:

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rg3 might be an interesting comeback.

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No.

bear2be2 said:

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tmcats said:

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rg3 might be an interesting comeback.

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No.

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This!....also waiting for someone to bring up Singletary. You have to love Internet boards doing coach searches.

blackie said:

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bear2be2 said:

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tmcats said:

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rg3 might be an interesting comeback.

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No.

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This!....also waiting for someone to bring up Singletary. You have to love Internet boards doing coach searches.

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One just boggles the mind… Lordy, the other is a well beaten dog that just needs to end.

PartyBear said:

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Basically to me the candidates should be, and not necessarily in this particular order.

Traylor
Dickert
Eck
Boise State HC

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That's a pretty good list. Eck and Danielson might be a reach though.

Oh Lawd No...

Robert Griffin III says he is '100%' interested in Baylor's open head coaching job - Yahoo Sports

Robert Griffin III says he is '100%' interested in Baylor's open head coaching job

Baylor University fired head football coach Dave Aranda over the weekend.
The Bears will conduct a coaching search to find his replacement and may consider a familiar face.
Former quarterback and current NFL and college football analyst Robert Griffin III told Dan Patrick on Monday's edition of the "Dan Patrick Show" that he is "100%" interested in the gig.

Quote:

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"If Baylor wants to get back to winning and have a university that isn't just respectable on the football field, but one the fans can be proud of, they need people who know what it looks like to win at Baylor.
"So yeah, I would 100% be interested. I talked with the athletic director, who is a guy in Doug McNamee that knows what it looks like to win at Baylor, know how you have to win at Baylor and recruit to Baylor to make those things happen."

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"If Baylor wants to get back to winning and have a university that isn't just respectable on the football field, but one the fans can be proud of, they need people who know what it looks like to win at Baylor." — @RGIII says he's interested in the Baylor head coaching job. 🐻🏈 pic.twitter.com/tgrnYZM0nQ

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 26, 2026

Griffin played at Baylor from 2008-11, under then-head coach Art Briles. The Bears went 25-21 in that span, but Griffin's final season was the team's best: Baylor finished 10-3, including a win in the 2011 Alamo Bowl. In 2011, Griffin won the Heisman Trophy, Baylor's only Heisman winner in school history.

It will be interesting to see where the Bears go. Griffin has never been a head football coach and has never coached at any level.

The former quarterback's playing career ended in 2020. The next football season, Griffin signed a deal with ESPN and later joined Fox to cover the NFL and college football.

Baylor hired Aranda ahead of the 2020 season. It was his first time as head coach, and he came from LSU after four years as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, including on the Tigers' national championship-winning squad in 2019.

The Bears went 2-7 in the COVID-19-shortened season in Aranda's first year, but bounced back in a big way, going 12-2 in 2021, including a Sugar Bowl win. That remains the most wins in a season in school history.

Aranda couldn't sustain that success, as the Bears went 6-7 and 3-9 over the next two seasons. Baylor has been to just three bowl games in the past six years and lost two. Aranda leaves Baylor with a 40-40 record.
The Bears started this season 4-1 but lost to TCU two weeks ago. Then Baylor lost to Kansas this weekend, as the Jayhawks scored the game-winning touchdown with just 1:13 left.

This loss dropped the Bears to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12. Baylor announced that defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Klanderman has no prior head-coaching experience, but a strong finish to the season could put his name firmly in the mix for the full-time job.

Baylor will go on the road to face UCF this Friday.

Realitybites said:

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Aliceinbubbleland said:

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I was thinking perhaps the search firm contacted say a P4 HC and said if Baylor called would you be interested?.

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The job is less attractive than it was a decade ago. 2030 is right around the corner and given Baylor's performance over the past decade another 4 years of mediocrity puts its future as a P4 program in question. There really is no margin for error when it comes to this hire.

---

Man! IMO, I can't emphasize enough, how paramount that paragraph truly is. Truer words were never spoken.
BU has been cannon fodder for quite some time with all the moving parts of College Football that has been going on. An example... (here comes the BU naysayer Pollyannas to beat it up) ESPN or Saturday's Game Day RARELY mentions BU unless they are playing a marquee team they must promote. ZERO, NADA, Zilch!!!
I can only recall maybe one time this season of a mention. Saturday may be the coming exception, announcing the firing of CDA. And yes, that publicity is important.

Dougie really has a Major conundrum in front of him. Me personally, I view him as an "on the job training lap dog or tool. Hopefully I will have to eat crow big time. No real experience in this arena of expertise. WILL the potential candidates be able to ascertain his true grasp of his job or "autonomy"? Will that be a problem?

Baylor's P4 designation + $$$$$$$$$ hangs in the balance. Fire away!!

Realitybites said:

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Aliceinbubbleland said:

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I was thinking perhaps the search firm contacted say a P4 HC and said if Baylor called would you be interested?

---

Maybe. Depends on who else was calling and what my current situation was like. Taylor at UTSA? Yes. Beamer at South Carolina? Yes. Danielson at Boise? Maybe. Eck at New Mexico or Fritz at Houston or Lashlee at SMU, no.

The way the administration scapegoated the most successful HC in history would have to be in the back of anyone's mind.

The job is less attractive than it was a decade ago. 2030 is right around the corner and given Baylor's performance over the past decade another 4 years of mediocrity puts its future as a P4 program in question. There really is no margin for error when it comes to this hire.

Unproven coordinators are not an option.

---

The entire coaching profession, at every level, has en elephant's memory at the bolded point. What percentage of people in Baylor Nation has a clue as to how much that can color anyone's response to the possibility of coaching football here?

That said, I'm confident the right guy is out there and BU can find him, though nimbleness is a big issue. You know the search is already underway and doubtless was before CDA's dismissal.

AC/DC said:

---

Realitybites said:

---

Aliceinbubbleland said:

---

I was thinking perhaps the search firm contacted say a P4 HC and said if Baylor called would you be interested?.

---

The job is less attractive than it was a decade ago. 2030 is right around the corner and given Baylor's performance over the past decade another 4 years of mediocrity puts its future as a P4 program in question. There really is no margin for error when it comes to this hire.

---

Man! IMO, I can't emphasize enough, how paramount that paragraph truly is. Truer words were never spoken.
BU has been cannon fodder for quite some time with all the moving parts of College Football that has been going on. An example... (here comes the BU naysayer Pollyannas to beat it up) ESPN or Saturday's Game Day RARELY mentions BU unless they are playing a marquee team they must promote. ZERO, NADA, Zilch!!!
I can only recall maybe one time this season of a mention. Saturday may be the coming exception, announcing the firing of CDA. And yes, that publicity is important.

Dougie really has a Major conundrum in front of him. Me personally, I view him as an "on the job training lap dog or tool. Hopefully I will have to eat crow big time. No real experience in this arena of expertise. WILL the potential candidates be able to ascertain his true grasp of his job or "autonomy"? Will that be a problem?

Baylor's P4 designation + $$$$$$$$$ hangs in the balance. Fire away!!

---

Yesterday's action, overdue as it was, begins to move McNamee out of the lapdog category IMO.

canoso said:

---

AC/DC said:

---

Realitybites said:

---

Aliceinbubbleland said:

---

I was thinking perhaps the search firm contacted say a P4 HC and said if Baylor called would you be interested?.

---

The job is less attractive than it was a decade ago. 2030 is right around the corner and given Baylor's performance over the past decade another 4 years of mediocrity puts its future as a P4 program in question. There really is no margin for error when it comes to this hire.

---

Man! IMO, I can't emphasize enough, how paramount that paragraph truly is. Truer words were never spoken.
BU has been cannon fodder for quite some time with all the moving parts of College Football that has been going on. An example... (here comes the BU naysayer Pollyannas to beat it up) ESPN or Saturday's Game Day RARELY mentions BU unless they are playing a marquee team they must promote. ZERO, NADA, Zilch!!!
I can only recall maybe one time this season of a mention. Saturday may be the coming exception, announcing the firing of CDA. And yes, that publicity is important.

Dougie really has a Major conundrum in front of him. Me personally, I view him as an "on the job training lap dog or tool. Hopefully I will have to eat crow big time. No real experience in this arena of expertise. WILL the potential candidates be able to ascertain his true grasp of his job or "autonomy"? Will that be a problem?

Baylor's P4 designation + $$$$$$$$$ hangs in the balance. Fire away!!

---

Yesterday's action, overdue as it was, begins to move McNamee out of the lapdog category IMO.

---

Sincerely hoping you're right. At my age time is of the essence.

AC/DC said:

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canoso said:

---

AC/DC said:

---

Realitybites said:

---

Aliceinbubbleland said:

---

I was thinking perhaps the search firm contacted say a P4 HC and said if Baylor called would you be interested?.

---

The job is less attractive than it was a decade ago. 2030 is right around the corner and given Baylor's performance over the past decade another 4 years of mediocrity puts its future as a P4 program in question. There really is no margin for error when it comes to this hire.

---

Man! IMO, I can't emphasize enough, how paramount that paragraph truly is. Truer words were never spoken.
BU has been cannon fodder for quite some time with all the moving parts of College Football that has been going on. An example... (here comes the BU naysayer Pollyannas to beat it up) ESPN or Saturday's Game Day RARELY mentions BU unless they are playing a marquee team they must promote. ZERO, NADA, Zilch!!!
I can only recall maybe one time this season of a mention. Saturday may be the coming exception, announcing the firing of CDA. And yes, that publicity is important.

Dougie really has a Major conundrum in front of him. Me personally, I view him as an "on the job training lap dog or tool. Hopefully I will have to eat crow big time. No real experience in this arena of expertise. WILL the potential candidates be able to ascertain his true grasp of his job or "autonomy"? Will that be a problem?

Baylor's P4 designation + $$$$$$$$$ hangs in the balance. Fire away!!

---

Yesterday's action, overdue as it was, begins to move McNamee out of the lapdog category IMO.

---

Sincerely hoping you're right. At my age time is of the essence.

---

That makes two of us.

Aliceinbubbleland said:

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Look at his previous history plus being an assistant to Saban. This is what you want to see in a coaching search. Indiana's hire

Curt Cignetti, Indiana University's head football coach, came from James Madison University (JMU).
Indiana hired him on November 30, 2023, after he spent five seasons (20192023) as JMU's head coach. There he compiled a 52-9 record, including a strong transition from FCS to FBS (19-4 in 20222023 in the Sun Belt). He had previously been head coach at Elon (20172018) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP, 20112016), and earlier worked as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama.

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That's the dream resume. Nick Saban coaching tree -> at least 5 successful seasons as HC in D1 immediately before hire to Baylor. While that's virtually impossible to replicate, that's the ideal situation.

blackie said:

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Loved what RGIII did for us. But him at head coach would be Deion Sanders version 2.

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I'll second that but I was always surprised RGIII didn't lead his teammates in defending Art Briles when he was being screwed by our Prestonwood regents. Yes, many years later but not when needed.

Danielson looks to be off the table based on public statement