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By Aman Sharma
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Joe Klanderman ran Baylor’s defense for just seven games before inheriting the entire program, and its toughest Big 12 opponents still sit on the calendar.
The Baylor Bears dismissed coach Dave Aranda the morning after a 25-24 defeat against the Kansas Jayhawks, the school announced on Oct. 25. Athletic director Doug McNamee handed the interim role to Klanderman.
McNamee praised the outgoing coach while explaining the move in a written release.
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“He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories. While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program.”
Aranda leaves Waco at 40-40 over seven seasons after arriving from LSU, where he ran the defense for the 2019 national title team.
His 2020 debut ended 2-7. A year later, Baylor went 12-2 and won both the Big 12 title and the Sugar Bowl, a peak no later Aranda team approached.
Just one winning record followed, an 8-5 run in 2024. After a 5-7 finish last year, Baylor kept him once athletic director Mack Rhoades stepped down Nov. 20.
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Administrators liked Aranda, though he was slow to adjust once NIL arrived. At the 2024 Big 12 media days, when asked how Baylor had gained ground with recruits, he gave a blunt answer.
“We’re paying players.”
Atlanta hosted the opener, and Auburn escaped 17-16 after Baylor’s go-ahead two-point attempt fell short late. A four-game winning streak ended with a 17-6 setback against TCU in Waco.
Kansas won by a point next, snapping a 14-game series skid that stretched to 2007 and collecting its first conference victory of the year. The Bears sit at 4-3, 2-2 against conference foes.
Also, Baylor’s safeties coach, Klanderman, spent the previous seven seasons at Kansas State, the last six as defensive coordinator. His earlier stops were North Dakota State and Minnesota State, where he played defensive line.
Klanderman’s first game in charge comes quickly, Oct. 30 at UCF. The schedule’s closing stretch then sends Baylor to BYU and Houston, with Texas Tech visiting Waco in between.
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