Dave Aranda is reportedly out at Baylor.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting, per sources, that Baylor has fired Aranda as the program’s head football coach. He was in his 7th season as the head coach of the Bears. Baylor is 4-3 in 2026 after a Week 8 loss at Kansas.
Sources: Baylor has fired coach Dave Aranda. https://t.co/IbD17gGixH
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 25, 2026
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It was the first head coaching job for Aranda, who turned 50 last month. He succeeded Matt Rhule, who left Waco to go to the NFL.
Aranda’s Baylor tenure got off to a rough start with a 2-7 showing in the COVID-impacted 2020 season. In Year 2, however, Aranda guided the Bears to a 12-win season capped by a Sugar Bowl victory over an Ole Miss squad then coached by Lane Kiffin.
Since 2021, however, Baylor has only posted 1 winning season under Aranda (8-5 in 2024). Baylor has been 2 more bowl games since the Sugar Bowl victory, losing the Armed Forces Bowl in 2022 and Texas Bowl in 2024.
Aranda is 40-40 overall as a head coach. Before taking the Baylor job, he was defensive coordinator at LSU from 2016-19, helping the Tigers win the College Football Playoff National Championship in his final season.
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Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
