Last week, news broke that Baylor was set to hire Kansas State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman for the same position.
Klanderman has a tall task ahead of him, as he looks to retool a Baylor defense that was toward the bottom of the Big 12 in every category, allowing 32.6 points per game, 197.2 rushing yards per game, 194.9 passing yards per game and an opponent third-down conversion rate of 41%.
The new defensive coordinator, however, believes the Bears can get things turned around rather quickly, saying in his introductory press conference on Monday, “There are a lot of hungry players in the building. There are a lot of guys that want to be great. There are a lot of guys that want to do it for the team. There are a lot of guys that want to do it for the university and have a lot of pride in the university, and that’s the best starting point.”
Klanderman continued, “I know that there’s talent here from playing Baylor for years and years. I know that you can attract talent here. I know we can get this thing flipped really quickly. In uncertainty, that’s where you find the most growth and passion. The quality of your life is in direct proportion to how much uncertainty you can handle, and I’m ready to get uncomfortable, so to speak. This opportunity is something humongous. This is something that we can take great leaps quickly, and that’s why I’m excited to get going.”
In each of the last five years, the Wildcats have ranked among the best defenses in the conference and have been inside the top 30 nationally in defensive efficiency with Klanderman as defensive coordinator.
As expected, Dave Aranda will hand over all defensive play-calling duties to Klanderman in 2026, with Aranda expressing his excitement about the prospects of “being a head coach again.” Klanderman, however, still says Aranda will have a hand in working with the defense, whether that’s a small or significant role is to be determined.
“Obviously, his input is very valuable and welcome, but I think in order to get a fresh start, we probably need some changes,” Klanderman said. “That’s not a [knock] at anything that they’ve done here previously, but I just think these guys want to get a new beginning. My interactions with them are that they’re excited about it, and I’m excited to bring it.”
Klanderman was a standout defensive lineman at Minnesota State from 1997 to 2001, but across his 20-plus-year coaching career, he has coached at all three levels on defense. While he didn’t outright confirm it at his press conference on Monday, it’s expected that he will coach safeties this fall, as he’s done in the seven previous seasons at K-State.
“Everything I’m doing and teaching, I’ve learned through trial and error; some things work for certain types of guys, and some things don’t work for certain types of guys,” Klanderman said.
He continued, “I didn’t just take some ideas from some guy that I don’t know that has a great name and use it as my own. I’ve molded them. I’ve changed them. I’ve done it at the linebacker position. I’ve done that in the DB room. I’ve done it up front. I’ve coached at all three levels and been a coordinator since 2007. I’ve done it in a lot of different places in a lot of different ways, and it works.”
Across the last six seasons in Manhattan as the defensive coordinator, Klanderman has learned all the ins and outs of the Big 12, which arguably boasts the most unique collection of offenses in the country. Klanderman’s familiarity across the league should help with a shorter learning curve to prepare for the 2026 season.
“The Big 12 is a wide-open, offensive league and a lot of diversity in the things that you see,” he said. “To be a coordinator in this league, it’s nice to have familiarity. Coach Aranda and I don’t have a history per se, but I think he respected the fact that I’ve been in this league and I know what this league is about. Throughout my body of work, I’ve been able to have some of the best defenses in the league, so I know how to succeed here.”
Before Kansas State, Klanderman won four FCS National Championships in five years at North Dakota State, coaching defensive backs under head coach Chris Klieman, his mentor in the coaching industry; Klieman just recently retired after six years at the helm of Kansas State.
“Phenomenal people person; he’s one of the best people I know,” Klanderman said of Klieman. “His motto is, ‘I want to impact someone on a daily basis.’ If I’ve taken nothing else from him, and he lived it, that’s it. I owe a lot to that man. I’m so thankful for him, and I hope that I can live up to the standard that he set.”
As for the scheme Klanderman runs, he didn’t get into specific details or styles, but noted that the coverages are simple for the players to understand but look very different to opponents; he also said that the success of the secondary starts up front.
“I want the D-line to be as disruptive as humanly possible. If we can get guys up there that are causing havoc, both in the run game and in the rush, that’s the priority,” Klanderman said.
He added, “I know that sounds like common sense, but one of the things that I’ve been able to do over the years is help the team create turnovers. When people think of that, they think of the DBs and how they’re ball hawks. That’s part of it, but most of those turnovers are created because of a disruptive front.”
Looking ahead to what Klanderman wants his defensive personnel to embody, it begins with a desire to get better and a championship-caliber mentality.
“We’re looking for guys that are hungry; we’re looking for guys that are hungry to learn,” he said. “We’re looking for guys who are about the team. Obviously, it has to fit in with Coach Aranda. He’s the boss. They have to fit with his philosophy, but I think he and I are aligned that way. You’re going to win championships with guys who have championship mindsets — it starts there.”
One of the players on the current roster who is a priority to bring back is rising redshirt senior linebacker Keaton Thomas. Thomas has earned all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons and has totaled 200 tackles in that span; he will be a sure-fire starter next fall if he returns.
“What I’m fired up about is that I think he really loves football; you can tell by the way he talks and that he cares about the team,” Klanderman said of Thomas. “Obviously, you can see a lot of the great things that he does on the field, but what I’d like to help him do is become a better leader, become a more intelligent football leader and help round him out a little bit, so that if he has aspirations to play at the next level, he’s ready.”
As for other players on the roster that Klanderman wants to retain, he didn’t give specific names but said there’s a certain baseline of talent the Bears will need to evaluate, whether on the current roster or in the transfer portal.
“You want to prioritize guys that have the ability to play at this level,” Klanderman said. “My wife might be really hungry, but I don’t want her playing DB for us. There’s certainly a baseline of ability that you have to have, but my point is, they come in all shapes and sizes. If you get the right recipe there, magic can happen.”
Now that Klanderman has started to settle into his new role, all of his attention will be moved to the transfer portal, as the Bears are expected to rebuild most of their defense during the portal window, which runs from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16.
