Baylor Football

Opinion: This Should Mark the End of the Aranda Era

Good man, steady leader, but the fire’s gone. Baylor football needs a new voice.
October 25, 2025
15k Views
16 Comments
Story Poster
Photo by Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

It’s not about one bad season or one bad game — it’s about the spark that’s been missing for far too long. Dave Aranda is a good man, but Baylor football needs more than calm and composure. It needs life. It needs belief. It needs a change.


I’ve defended Dave Aranda for as long as I could. His humility, composure and quiet strength once felt like the exact qualities Baylor football needed. He brought calm after chaos, steadiness after volatility.

To continue reading, you must be a SicEm365 Premium subscriber.
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial
16 Comments
Discussion from...

Opinion: This Should Mark the End of the Aranda Era

7,880 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by Johnny Bear
Bearsalwayswin
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I agree!
SIC EM 94
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Very well said…it's time!
historian
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Good article. Sums up the situation well.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
WA Jim
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Why do have to say things like' "it's not because he failed as a person" - that is insulting - of course he didn't fail as a person!! What do we think we are? A bunch of ignorant a-holes? Of course everyone knows he is a good person! ! That has nothing to do with it - it's just business
jpbaylorfan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
The Dave era needs to end by tomorrow if serious about being a football school.
boognish_bear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Agree. It's time.

Makes it tougher when he's such a likable person...but we are trapped on the hamster wheel of meh.
BluesBear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Mack - you are next buddy.
Oso Pardo
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Our players are not only unprepared and lost, they're also taking bad angles for tackles, trying to arm tackle D1 players (don't work), not completing offensive assignments and seem to shy away from hard contact. They're physically and mentally soft. That's all on the coaching staff, not the players. That's lack of development and motivation. It's soft/no contact practices, it's knowing that the **** storm isn't coming when you mess up, it's being told that it's okay when mistakes happen. Football has never been a sport where the nice guys win, you have to have a mean streak, a dog, inside you to be able to flip the switch when needed. That takes motivation and encouragement to keep that honed. These guys all had that DOG at one time and some still do, but it seems that most have forgotten where the switch is.

Cincy today LOOKED like a team that practices hard physical contact constantly. They not only didn't avoid it; they were looking for it. When we tried to just run into them they shrugged us off like we were children. When we tried to arm tackle they just ran through us and laughed. They were on a different level physically. That's not because their players are better, its the difference in mentality between them and us. Our COACHING STAFF has created this mess and yes, they have to go.

I never really liked Rhule or the style of football he likes to play but I will give him credit for how tough his teams played. Every team we played back then talked about how physical we played and how hard we hit. I distinctly remember a few times other players talked about how they were glad they didn't have to play us again in their post game interviews.
Oso Pardo
How long do you want to ignore this user?
TTT
Fre3dombear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
No bad dudes

= winning under the woke lefty hypocrites running baylor

Im just waiting for them to change the name from Baylor
WA Jim
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Fre3dombear said:

No bad dudes

= winning under the woke lefty hypocrites running baylor

Im just waiting for them to change the name from Baylor


Agreed on the lack of dudes- but because we are woke? I don't like the woke crap any more than anyone - but
I don't know that is the reason why we suck - TCU is woke Cincy is probably woke and they both beat our arse.
bor112475
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I agree!
Realitybites
How long do you want to ignore this user?
WA Jim said:

Fre3dombear said:

No bad dudes

= winning under the woke lefty hypocrites running baylor

Im just waiting for them to change the name from Baylor


Agreed on the lack of dudes- but because we are woke? I don't like the woke crap any more than anyone - but
I don't know that is the reason why we suck - TCU is woke Cincy is probably woke and they both beat our arse.


Baylor's current state is the result of David Garland's declaration that "we are not an institution of football." That is a ridiculous Ivy League like sentiment. When you are playing big boy tackle football in the FBS, the W-L column absolutely matters.

The hirings following that, Linda, Mack, Dave were all designed to make it a reality. Until we get a university president who is paying more attention to the athletic department's number one money maker instead of a WBB exhibition game, he hires a like minded AD, and that AD hires a competent coach this will continue.
ranchtx
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Caraway' article yesterday said it all..:

" ….The camera panned to a silent, stoic Dave Aranda standing on the sidelines, neither showing frustration with his defense, nor protesting the spot, nor begging for a review."

How do you expect to have a team that fights on every play, when the Head Coach who appears to be totally checked out

No leadership…no fight …no emotion…

And there is no way he's ever going to change

A leopard can't change its spots…..!!!!

True Grit
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I was surprised at his lack of "care factor" for that spot.
Johnny Bear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Aranda's whole stoic Tom Landry like demeanor had me concerned from the get go. Not saying that personality type can never succeed as a HC (look at Tom Landry), but I don't think it works at a school like BU. We don't have to have somebody that is constantly going crazy and bouncing off the walls, but we do need a HC with demonstrable passion and fire who is capable of inspiring players to go above and beyond as at least one personality trait. Our two greatest HCs - Briles and Teaff - had that ability and we need to get back to that as one of the qualities of coach next.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.