newsweek
The Baylor Bears have dismissed head coach Dave Aranda, making him the first Big 12 coach to be fired this season, according to a report by Pete Nakos of On3. The decision came on Sunday, just a day after Baylor surrendered a 21-10 fourth-quarter advantage and allowed Kansas to close the game on a 15-3 run for a 31-28 victory. The Jayhawks entered the matchup with a 2-4 overall record and an 0-3 mark in conference play, heightening the sting of the defeat.
Aranda, 50, had been on the hot seat entering the 2025 campaign. His most successful season at Baylor was 2021, when the Bears went 12-2 and defeated Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. However, the program posted losing records in 2022 and 2023, and although Baylor finished 8-5 in 2024, the team regressed to 5-7 last season. Over seven seasons, Aranda compiled a 40-40 overall record and a 26-32 mark in Big 12 play.
Key Analysis
Despite occasional flashes of promise—such as a 55-19 rout of Arizona State on October 3—the Bears struggled with consistency. A 17-6 home loss to TCU prompted Aranda to acknowledge that changes were being evaluated. “If that's moving pieces around, if that's giving competition, if that's challenging guys, all of those things are being talked about and being addressed now,” Aranda said, via the Dallas Morning News. Those adjustments proved insufficient against Kansas, dropping Baylor to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12. The firing leaves the Bears searching for a new leader on a short week, as they are scheduled to travel to UCF on Friday night.
Originally reported by newsweek.