BREAKING: Dave Aranda returning to Baylor for 2024 season
Dave Aranda will be retained as the head football coach at Baylor University, SicEm365 has confirmed by multiple sources. Pete Thamel of ESPN was the first to report the retention.
Despite a a 3-9 2023 campaign that was capped off by a loss to WVU on Saturday in Waco, University Vice President and Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades made the decision to stick with Aranda.
SicEm365 has confirmed that multiple staff changes are expected and an overhauling of the program off the field is expected.
Aranda has posted a 23-24 overall record and a 15-20 mark in Big 12 play at Baylor in four seasons. That career record was bolstered with a record-setting season in 2021 when the Bears finished with a 12-2 overall tally, a Big 12 Championship and a win in the Sugar Bowl over Ole Miss.
Outside of the historic season, Aranda has accumulated an overall record of 11-22 (8-18) and failed to reach standards the program had grown accustomed to. Baylor’s three Big 12 Championships are tied for the second most in the history of the league, tying Kansas State and behind only Oklahoma. Baylor also played for the championship in 2019 under Matt Rhule, a game in which the Bears lost to the Sooners in overtime.
Taking over what was viewed as a stable program left behind by Rhule, Aranda began his head coaching career with great turbulence as he arrived in Waco just ahead of the coronavirus outbreak that led to the cancelation of spring football in his first months on campus. Months later, the Bears were forced to cancel all of its non-conference match ups, playing just nine games against conference opponents. Baylor finished the season 2-7 with wins over Kansas and Kansas State a year after playing in the Big 12 Championship the season prior.
Aranda began the following off season by making drastic staff changes, replacing multiple offensive assistants, including offensive coordinator Larry Fedora. Fedora was replaced by former BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, who proved to be a massive addition as the Bears moved ahead to 2021.
Baylor would go on to win the league in 2021, and Aranda was awarded a contract extension through the 2029 season after his name was tied to several job openings. The commitment from Aranda and the return of the majority of the offensive and defensive lines were viewed as a solid foundation moving forward.
Since that moment, however, Aranda and the Bears have struggled. The Bears are 9-16 over the last two seasons including losses to Air Force and Texas State, and are 4-10 over its last 14 home contests.