10 Power Four college football coaches on the hot seat in 2024

7. Dave Aranda, Baylor

Since becoming the head coach of Baylor in 2020, Dave Aranda has had middling success. His best year as of this moment was three seasons ago, in 2021. Baylor won the Big 12, beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, and had the Bears finish fifth in the country. Other than that, there's not much else.

Three losing seasons in four years have put Dave Aranda in the hot seat topic to begin the 2024 season. Even some Baylor fans were calling for his exit, especially after their embarrassing season-opening loss to Texas State last year. In 2023, Baylor had their worst record since 2017. At least with that team, 2017 was Matt Rhule's first season in Waco and he eventually built Baylor back up before Aranda arrived.

The 47-year-old needs to greatly improve the win total in 2024 if he plans to stay in Waco. The biggest problem for the Bears last year was their defense. Aranda, a star defensive coordinator at one point, saw his defensive unit give 33.3 points per game last year. The defense got shredded through the air and failed to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

In the offseason, Aranda hoped to have bulked up his defense through the transfer portal. He brought in several intriguing transfers such as Western Kentucky safety Kendrick Simpkins and Texas Tech edge rusher Steve Linton. The offense also received a shot in the arm through the transfer portal.

The Bears were able to get former Toledo star quarterback Dequan Finn. While Blake Shapen was solid as the starter last year, he's left for a new opportunity at Mississippi State. Finn is an upgrade at the position, who can do damage both with his arm and legs. His playmaking ability should bolster an offensive attack that averaged just under 400 yards last year.

The overall production of the offense should see improvement. The offensive line was bad last year. However, the performance of the unit should be better with the return of four starters to go along with a few more additions from the transfer portal. Add in the arrival of former Texas State star wideout Ashtyn Hawkins to supplement an already impressive receiver core, and there is little reason to not assume the offense won't be better.

Overall, Baylor has enough pieces in place to be better than a three-win team in 2024. In all honesty, there should be some expectations for Baylor to get back into the bowl season, at the very least. There are twenty starters back and the transfers should make a huge difference. There's no doubt that Aranda is facing lots of pressure this year. Hopefully for him and the Baylor faithful, things go on an upward trajectory. Another train wreck of a year will certainly enforce change.