Baylor interim coach Joe Klanderman wants to provide needed 'jolt of energy' for Bears

Baylor interim coach Joe Klanderman hopes to provide a “jolt of energy” that he believes is desperately needed for the Bears.

“I think the players need it. I think the staff needs it. I think the fan base needs it, I think the alumni need it,” Klanderman said Monday.

Klanderman, their first-year defensive coordinator, was named interim coach of the Bears (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) after long-embattled head coach Dave Aranda was fired Sunday with a 40-40 record over 6 1/2 seasons. The Bears are 26-31 overall since a school-record 12 wins in 2021 that included a Big 12 Conference title and Sugar Bowl victory in Aranda's second season.

Baylor lost 25-24 at Kansas on Saturday after having a field goal blocked in the final minute. That came after the end of a four-game winning streak in a 17-6 home loss to struggling TCU the previous week.

“There’s a lot of work to be done this season ... Heck, half the season is still left,” Klanderman said. “Every goal that we had set in the preseason is still in front of us right now, and so we’re gonna work and attack every game, and we’re gonna move forward.”

The 47-year-old Klanderman has never been a head coach. He became Baylor's DC last December after seven seasons on coach Chris Klieman's staff at Kansas State that won a Big 12 title in 2022. Before that, he was on Klieman's staff at North Dakota State for four Football Championship Subdivision national titles in a five-season span. He coached from 2002-13 at Division II Minnesota State, his alma mater.

Baylor athletic director Doug McNamee said in an open letter Monday that the process was already underway to find the next head coach, but the logistics of the football calendar make it likely that it will be December before any hire is made.

"We want to bring in someone who will launch a generation of consistent winning,” McNamee wrote. “There are certainly non-negotiables when it comes to how we win and represent Baylor and its Christian mission, but it is imperative that we win because there is no substitute for how it fuels our priorities, our goals, and our future.”

While Klanderman aspires to be a head coach, he said he is happy with the role he has now with the Bears and hopes to thrive in it.

When asked if he views the five remaining regular-season games as an audition for the Baylor job, Klanderman responded: “Would I be interested in being the head coach of a program in the Big 12 that’s played football for 127 years in the best football-playing state in the union with a tremendous fan base and tremendous facilities and opportunities? Certainly. Am I going to go out there and campaign and use this platform as a way to get that? Absolutely not.”

The Bears have a short week of preparation before playing Friday night at UCF (4-3, 2-2), which is coming off a 39-31 double-overtime win at home over previously undefeated and then-No. 2 BYU. Their November schedule will begin against Iowa State before they face No. 8 BYU, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 18 Houston in a three-week stretch to finish the regular season.

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