The Baylor Bears have made the decision to extend the contract of their coach Dave Aranda in the midst of a potentially winning season.
The Bears currently have six wins and four losses with three of those losses coming in the Big 12 Conference. Baylor has showcased a much improved defense this season with nearly 100 more points scored than allowed, but it is still far from what it really should be. A season ago the Bears went 3-9, struggling in the conference in particular, and having quite a disappointing season that threatened the job security of Aranda.
The Baylor Bears announced that Aranda would return moving forward, effectively turning the rest of his contract into an “extension” after sitting in limbo for the start of the season.
Kinda weird to announce this when he is already under contract…
— Justin Allison (@JustinAllison16) November 18, 2024
Head coach Dave Aranda was among the people that many fans blamed for the lack of success in the program. Currently Aranda is 29-29 a perfect 500 record with the 1-1 record in bowl games and in 2021, Aranda brought the Bears to a Big 12 Conference Championship. Aranda has only had one winning season with the Baylor Bears so far although the jury is still out on the 2024 season.
After winning 12 games in 2021, it took two seasons for Aranda to accomplish the same goal with the Baylor Bears although the team, admittedly, did not have as much talent. The coach currently has a record of 19 wins and 24 losses in the Big 12 Conference since being hired as the Baylor Bears head coach. Many Baylor fans believe that the best years of Aranda or behind him and now the Coach no longer has would it takes to lead a team while recruiting.
Can Dave Aranda Reignite the Baylor Bears Defense Moving Forward?
Aranda was notably a successful defensive coordinator before being hired to lead the Baylor Bears. As a defensive coordinator, Aranda served in that role for Hawaii, Utah State, Wisconsin, and most recently LSU. Notably Aranda had one of the best defenses in the country during his time with LSU, and the same can also be said about his tenure with the Wisconsin Badgers.
However, the past can only save someone for so long and many Baylor fans are wondering how Aranda is able to keep his job with the team. One big factor could be the relationship that the coach has with his players, and how they view him as a highly respected individual.
The players at Baylor want Dave Aranda to be their coach and are playing like it with 4 straight W’s to get Bowl eligible. O is averaging 45.7 ppg over the last 4, OC Jake Spavital has Sawyer Robertson playing the best ball of his career and Bryson Washington is a walking TD. pic.twitter.com/NRn1FpYVKf
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 17, 2024
Currently, there are just two games left in the season and the Baylor Bears still have a chance to be over 500 for just the second time in Aranda’s tenure with the team. The Bears must play the Houston cougars in the Kansas Jayhawks to finish out the season with the Jayhawks posing a serious threat.
Currently, no team really seems to want to play against the Jayhawks because the quarterback Jalon Daniels who’s been able to ignite the offense. This could prove to be a real issue for the Baylor defense because despite being a defensive minded coach, Aranda has really struggled. The Baylor Bears are currently allowing 27.6 points per game on defense while scoring 35.2 points per game.
One of the biggest issues has been the undisciplined nature of both the defense and the offense with the defense having 28 penalties that have resulted in first downs. Baylor has allowed 34 touchdowns to be scored with nearly 400 yards per game being average by the opposing team and offense.
Baylor might be winning games but it is not due to savvy play, but rather brute force on offense. Both the Baylor Bears and coach Dave Aranda can only survive on brute force for so long. While Aranda has received an “extension” that does not necessarily mean that the fans have welcomed the coach back for a bright future.
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