Aranda to return after Baylor’s bounce-back ’24

Baylor coach Dave Aranda will return next season, a school spokesman confirmed Saturday.

The new-look Bears became bowl-eligible Saturday, moving to 6-4 with a 49-35 victory at West Virginia, their first win in Morgantown in seven tries. After starting 2-4 and 0-3 in the Big 12, Baylor has won four straight.

Aranda, who was LSU‘s defensive coordinator on their 2019 national championship team, won a Big 12 title in his second season as a head coach in 2021 with a 12-2 record and a No. 5 postseason ranking. But after struggling through 6-7 and 3-9 seasons the past two years, he was firmly on the hot seat.

Baylor finished 101st in scoring offense last season at 23.1 points per game, prompting Aranda to replace offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes with former Texas State head coach Jake Spavital in hopes of becoming more explosive.

This season, the Bears are averaging 35.1 points and have found a breakout star in redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington, who became the fifth player in Big 12 history to have four touchdowns in consecutive games Saturday, after a big showing against TCU last week.

Aranda also took over defensive playcalling duties from defensive coordinator Matt Powledge following last season.

Aranda’s buyout would have been nearly $17 million, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.