ESPN Identifies Five Potential Candidates to Take Over at Baylor After Dave Aranda Firing

Another week, another round in the coaching carousel. Baylor's Dave Aranda is headed on-- already rumored to be linked to LSU-- and the Bears are sooner or later going to have to settle on a new head coach. ESPN got ahead of the search and shot out five top candidates. Here's a quick look at the viability of each potential new coach.

Lincoln Riley, USC

Riley is 97-30 between Oklahoma and USC and has the Trojans working back toward the College Football Playoff scene. That might be the biggest stumbling block here. Riley has been killing it on the recruiting trail and seems to have USC moving in the right direction. Riley would likely cost a ton of money and mnight end up being a bit rich for Baylor's blood.

Matt Rhule, Nebraska

The upside here is this-- Rhule took over at Baylor moved them from 1-11 in year one to 11-3 in year three... and then split for the NFL. The bad news is this: he hasn't exactly been wowing anyone at Nebraska, with his career record now at 71-65. He'd also be fairly expensive and while it's tempting to remember his making Baylor relevant in 2019, it obviously wasn't enough to hold him then.

Spencer Danielson, Boise State

Danielson fits the young-up-and-coming coach vibe. He's only 37 and after a decade at Boise between his years as an assistant and now with a 31-9 mark as a head coach, Danielson is ready for the big time. But his connections are generally in California or at Boise-- not in Texas. Danielson seems like the kind of coach who might not be the first choice, but if he's interested, he might be viable.

Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio

Traylor is obviously familiar with Texas-- grew up there, played at Stephen F. Austin, was a Texas high school coach, and was briefly an assistant at Texas and then SMU before moving on to UTSA. He's 58-27 there, but the last few years have been a step back from back-to-back 12 and 11 win seasons in 2021 and 2022. Traylor would likely be interested, but is he a big enough name to impress donors and fire up the fan base?

GJ Kinne, Texas State

If Kinne feels a bit similar to Traylor as a candidate, well, he played for him when he was in high school. A former QB with deep Texas roots, Kinne is 37 years old and has spent the last four years at Texas State after a season at Immaculate Word. He's 38-21 in his head coaching career and is thought of as an offensive guru. The only problem is the same as with Traylor-- would Baylor's fan base get behind Kinne as a hire?

Add us as a preferred source on Google