Baylor Confirms Aranda Hire; Press Conference Monday at 10 AM and Other Notes

I know I’m a little late on this part, but Baylor Athletics released an official statement confirming the hire of former-LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda a couple of hours ago that includes the first quotes we have from the man himself:

Unity and togetherness seems a bit redundant, but that’s hardly a valid complaint. In case you’re looking for more information about our new Head Coach, you should definitely take a look at the statement. Spoiler-alert: he has a son named RONIN, and I believe that I am legally obligated to type that in all caps henceforth. You guys can do whatever you want on that front. If you have a subscription to the TheAthletic, they have a wonderful piece up this afternoon that talks about how he got to Baylor from LSU, as does SI.com (and that one is free). Both are worth your time.

What Baylor’s statement does not say, but I can tell you, is that the official press conference introducing Aranda will be this coming Monday, January 20, 2020 at 10:00 AM in the Baylor Club (that’s in McLane Stadium). It seems fitting that Baylor will introduce our first minority (Aranda is Mexican-American) Head Football Coach on MLK Day, but my guess is that the delay is more to allow Aranda to hit the ground running this weekend in recruiting and to give them time to prepare.

The event will be open to the public, so if you’d like a chance to hear our new coach speak in person and perhaps even meet him, you should go. I’m going to try to make it down if I can find someone that wants to drive from DFW with me.

Other random notes, tweets, and things from the aftermath of today’s announcement:

• Aranda is officially in Waco as of a few minutes ago and looking quite dapper. In case you didn’t realize it, “none” is now the Official Hairstyle of Baylor Football. You should plan accordingly.

• Tyler Bouldin of KWTX is reporting that Aranda will meet with the remaining coaches as early as tomorrow morning, so if you’re hoping for someone in particular to be retained, say an extra prayer tonight that it goes well. I’m not sure if that will happen before or after he meets with the team, which should also occur tomorrow morning. CORRECTION: Aranda apparently is meeting/met with the players briefly this evening after his arrival.
• We don’t yet have any concrete information about potential assistant-coach hires, but in addition to the names floated earlier (LSU safety coach Bill Busch and Utah OC Andy Ludwig), SI’s Ross Dellenger floated Louisiana DC Ron Roberts and LSU analyst Ronnie Wheat as possible additions.
• RGIII wished Aranda well, if that matters to you.

And that’s pretty much it right now. I’m going to use this post as a running thread of sorts over the next day or so unless something major (like a coordinator hire) happens, so check back!

This is fun, no? Talking about the future of Baylor Football again. #SicEm

One more embedded tweet: McLane Stadium is ready.