The head coach firing across college football have picked up over the last week, as schools enter the back half of the season preparing to embark on head coaching searches. This week started with Maryland finally moving on from Mike Locksley, and after a terrible loss to Stanford, NC State did the same with Dave Doeren on Saturday.
Over the past few seasons, a popular name on any hot seat list was Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. Each season, Aranda seemingly coached well enough to get one more chance at building a winner, but 2026-27 was always going to be a pivotal season for him.
Baylor fires Dave Aranda after 7 seasons in Waco
On Sunday Morning, the Baylor Bears brought an end to the Dave Aranda era, firing the head coach a day after the team lost to Kansas.
Sources: Baylor has fired coach Dave Aranda. pic.twitter.com/IbD17gGixH
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 25, 2026
Losing to Kansas felt like a death blow in the moment, as it was certainly a game the Bears should win, and one that Aranda really needed to have. The loss dropped the Bears to 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference play, seemingly putting the College Football Playoff out of the picture.
Baylor defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will take over as the Bears' interim head coach the rest of the way.
Saturday's loss to Kansas dropped Aranda to 40-40 for his 7 year tenure, and the exactly .500 record seems fitting for his tenure. Aside from an impressive 12-2 season that ended in the Sugar Bowl in 2021, Baylor failed to ever show they were building toward a sustained level of success. Adding to the issues for Dave Aranda was Baylor Athletic Director Mack Rhoades stepping down last year, bringing in a regime change.
For Dave Aranda, he may not need to wait too long to find his next gig, it just may not be as a head coach at this level. Aranda was the architect of the 2019 LSU defense, helping lead the Tigers to one of the best seasons in college football history.
Where Baylor turns with its head coahcing search will be facisnating to see as it could determine their upside in the Big 12. The state of Texas, from the Longhorns to Texas A&M, and SMU have all gone all-in with this new era of college football, and with the resources available to the program, they could look to make a splash, and start spending at a high level.
The hope for the programs like Baylor, NC State, and Maryland now is that this cycle doesn't turn chaotic. If some of the big schools start to make firings, it could limit their options, otherwise, simply being a Power 4 school could go a long way for each school.
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