Not Backing Down: 'We can win a national championship here'
Off the field, the college football world has been turned on its head over the last six months.
The concept turned reality of athletes profiting off their Name, Image and Likeness, the seismic realignment shift of the landscape that occurred with Oklahoma and Texas deceptively making a move to the SEC, and the unprecedented $95 million contract set in place at Michigan State for an overwhelming unproven coach that set off a rally off coaching changes around the country.
All of those things will, in some form or fashion, impact Baylor University directly, but the last on that list is one that has set off a flurry of fiery arrows aimed at a soft spot in the athletic offices in Waco.
Baylor — one of only 10 programs in the country to win at least three Power 5 conference championships since 2010 — is fresh off another 11-win season that was capped off by a 21-16 victory over No. 5 Oklahoma State.
Dave Aranda, Baylor’s second year head coach who is widely recognized as a brilliant defensive mind, has been one of the hottest names on the market since both the LSU and USC jobs came open early in the 2021 season. The connections were obvious, and the timing seemed to align as Baylor showed significant growth in year two under Aranda by improving its record from 2-7 to 11-2.
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Hired by former LSU head coach Les Miles, Aranda spent four seasons in Baton Rouge as the defensive coordinator and was the highest paid assistant coach in the country. He was given significant credit for leading the Tigers to an undefeated season in 2019 and a National Championship.
The connection was obvious and the speculation was expected.
Then there was USC, a historical program looking to recreate its glory days. A native of Southern California, Aranda attended Cal Luthern in Thousand Oaks, California for his undergrad and took his first coaching position at Redlands High School before returning to Cal Luthern as a linebackers coach in 1996. He spent his coaching career on the West Coast through 2012.
Again, the connection was obvious and speculation was expected.
In the last month, Aranda has also been publicly connected to Washington and Oklahoma, positions which have been filled as have LSU and USC. Now, with Mario Cristobal replacing Manny Diaz at Miami, the attention has turned to Oregon. Yes, Aranda is connected. He’s from the West Coast so it is inevitable, right?
Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades joined SicEm365 Radio multiple times during the course of Baylor’s championship season and has openly addressed the rumors and speculation. Rhoades joined the show again on Wednesday and didn’t hold back on his feelings on national media members stirring the pot regarding his coveted head coach and the jobs which they believe Aranda is a better fit.
“I've got mixed thoughts on it,” Rhoades told SicEm365 Radio.
“One, it says a lot about our program and the job that he's done, the job that the staff has done, and it’s certainly a reflection of our young men and just the success, the hard work, all of those things. You don't get mentioned unless all of those things are happening, operating at a high level. You're winning games, right? You're winning championships.
“I get tired, though, of national media suggesting that another school should come after Coach Aranda or any of our coaches.”
Rhoades later added, “I go back to we've played in two of the last three Big 12 Championship games, and one didn't didn't go our way, and most recently this one did. And that speaks well, not to just to the head coaches, the staff and student athletes, but the ability for us to win in football here at Baylor in Waco, Texas.
“So again, I think there's a little bit of flattery with it, but you also get a little bit tired of it as well.”
The frustration isn’t because it’s Oregon. It won’t be because the tide turns from Oregon to UCLA if and when Chip Kelly leaves Westwood for Eugene. It’s because Rhoades, who has been in Waco since the summer of 2016 and has seen a national championship in men’s and women’s basketball and major success across the entire athletic department, knows the potential for Baylor the football program.
Baylor is definitely the new kid on the block and people outside of the “Baylor Bubble” are reluctant to accept it. Generally speaking, the good ole days have never been. The 176-year old institution is seeing major success in all of its programs, a climb that started roughly 15 years ago as the commitment from the University administration and its supporters grew.
Now Baylor is the arguably the most complete athletic department in the Big 12, if not the nation. And while it has competed for the Big 12 football title more regularly than any program not named Oklahoma over the last 12 seasons, Big 12 Championships aren’t the ultimate goal.
“And I think where I get frustrated is — and I'm not gonna back down to this — Baylor is every bit as good football job as anywhere else in this country and we can win a national championship here,” Rhoades said.
“So to infer, particularly this most recent article, that other schools might be a better job, completely, completely disagree. And that's where I get frustrated and I certainly had a conversation with that particular writer.”