There were few college football coaches in the country hotter than Baylor’s Dave Aranda following the 2021 season after he led the Bears to a 12-2 record and Big 12 title and capped the season with a win over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
In 2024, there are few college football coaches in college football who will enter the season on the hot seat more than Aranda is after back-to-back losings seasons.
Baylor went 6-7 in 2022 and bottomed out (possibly) in 2023 with a 3-9 record that ended with five straight losses to close out the season. According to The Athletic’s Sam Kahn Jr., Aranda signed a contract extension following the 2021 season that runs through 2029 and contains a $20 million buyout clause.
Baylor fired offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes following the 2023 season and replaced him with Jake Spavital, who spent 2023 as the offensive coordinator at Cal. Aranda, who came to Baylor in 2020 after winning a national championship as defensive coordinator at LSU in 2019, will take over defensive play-calling duties.