Identifying Top 5 Baylor Bears Coaching Candidates to Replace Dave Aranda in 2027

Who will be the next Baylor football coach? A Baylor Bears coaching search is underway after the program parted ways with head coach Dave Aranda this past weekend. Aranda, formerly the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2021, was fired in his seventh season with the team on track for six wins or fewer for the fourth time in the last five years.

It was a move that was a long time coming for a program that simply wants to get back to respectability and at least compete for the Big 12 Conference. With the resources available in the state of Texas, this figures to be one of the better Power 4 head-coaching jobs available this offseason. So let’s take a look at some potential Baylor coaching candidates who could take over as the Bears football coach in 2027.

G.J. Kinne, Texas State Bobcats Head Coach

A few rumors have already started to emerge in the Baylor coaching search, primarily that a candidate with Texas roots is preferred. If that’s the case, add it to the list of reasons why Texas State Bobcats head coach G.J. Kinne should be near the top of the list of Baylor coaching candidates. Kinne, who turns 38 in November, is a Texas native who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at SMU and later spent a year on Doug Pederson’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles (2019) before working as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Hawai’i (2020) and then Central Florida (2021) under Gus Malzahn. That landed him his first head-coaching gig in 2022.

Replacing Eric Morris at Incarnate Word, Kinne immediately delivered a 12-2 record that ended with the program reaching the FCS Semifinals, making it further than they ever did under his predecessor. In that 12-win campaign, Incarnate Word averaged 581.2 total yards per game and 7.9 yards per play, all the while averaging nearly 52 points per game. That put him on Texas State’s radar, inheriting a program that went 13-35 in four seasons under Jake Spavital. Kinne instantly engineered a one-year turnaround, with the Bobcats going 8-5 in his first year at the helm and winning the First Responder Bowl. Now in his fourth year with the team, Kinne has Texas State on track for its fourth consecutive year with a winning record and its fourth bowl appearance. Kinne’s roots in Texas paired with his offensive background and track record of winning at multiple spots make him an ideal option for Baylor.

Jeff Traylor, UTSA Road Runners Head Coach

UTSA Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor is rightfully going to be one of the other top Baylor coaching candidates this offseason. Traylor, who turns 59 next May, is older than G.J. Kinne, and his background as a head coach only consists of what he’s done with UTSA. With that said, Traylor’s resume does include him winning two Conference USA titles and earning Conference USA Coach of the Year honors twice. He’s also got a nice background coaching in the state of Texas.

Traylor, a Texas native, began his coaching career in high school with stints as an assistant at Big Sandy High School (1989–1992) and then Jacksonville High School (1993–1999). He then made his way back to his alma mater, taking over as the Gilmer High School coach and holding that position down for more than a decade. Traylor finally made his way to the college ranks in 2015, working as a tight ends coach and special teams coordinator for the Texas Longhorns under Charlie Strong (2015–2016) before coaching running backs and serving as associate head coach with the SMU Mustangs (2017) and later for the Arkansas Razorbacks (2018–2019). Traylor has taken UTSA’s football program to new heights and has delivered two seasons with double-digit wins since 2021. Traylor’s Texas recruits, his talent evaluation, and his connections to high schools throughout the state all check boxes for Baylor.

Dan Mullen, UNLV Rebels Head Coach

UNLV Rebels head coach Dan Mullen should be one of the more popular candidates in the college football coaching carousel for programs that have reasonable expectations. He’s not the right target for a premier Power 4 job, but Mullen’s resume as a head coach both at Mississippi State and UNLV might make him an under-the-radar option for Baylor.

The Big 12 Conference is winnable with the right head coach at the helm, and Mullen brings several qualities that should matter a great deal to the school’s athletic department and boosters. Firstly, he’s an outstanding talent evaluator with an offense that both puts up great numbers and puts his players on the radar of NFL teams. It’s also translated into victories, as demonstrated by his .600 career winning percentage at Mississippi State, a .694 mark with the Florida Gators, and a 14-7 mark through his first 21 games at UNLV. Mullen will have a much greater talent pool to work with in Texas, and Baylor can offer him better resources than UNLV does. If Mullen were to be named the next Baylor head coach, despite his lack of connections to the state of Texas, it would be the kind of hire that could put the Bears in a position to contend for the Big 12 title nearly every year. There also wouldn’t be too much danger in him bolting for a better job because the path to conference titles in the SEC or Big Ten and the College Football Playoff would be far more challenging.

Brent Vigen, Montana State Bobcats Head Coach

Montana State Bobcats head coach Brent Vigen isn’t going to be one of the consensus names thrown out among Baylor coaching candidates. The 51-year-old head coach is a North Dakota State alum who has spent the entirety of his coaching career working in that part of the country. However, we’ll point to the success that UCLA (Bob Chesney), Indiana (Curt Cignetti), Houston (Willie Fritz) and New Mexico (Jason Eck) are having to show that there can be a real benefit to giving a successful FCS head coach an opportunity to coach in the FBS.

Vigen worked on the North Dakota State Bison’s coaching staff from 1998 to 2012, working his way up from being a graduate assistant to serving as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and then offensive coordinator for the program when it won three consecutive FCS championships and posted a combined 43-2 record from 2011 to 2013. Vigen later worked at Wyoming (2014–2020) before becoming a head coach for the first time at Montana State in 2021. The Bobcats have never been better, posting a dominant combined record in the seasons leading up to 2026. Vigen won the FCS top coaching honors in 2024 and his program won the FCS championship this past season. Montana State is currently putting together another stellar campaign, potentially on its way to a second consecutive FCS title. This would be a risky hire for sure by Baylor, but it could pay off as it did for UCLA, New Mexico, and Indiana.

Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans Head Coach

It seems like a matter of time until the USC Trojans fire head coach Lincoln Riley. He could take a year off and then evaluate his options in the 2027 college football coaching carousel, but the Texas native might also recognize there’s a good opportunity for him at Baylor. As with Kinne and Traylor, Riley grew up in the state of Texas, and he spent many of his formative years as an assistant (2003–2009) at Texas Tech learning the ropes from legendary football coach Mike Leach. Southern California has obviously proven to be a bad fit for Riley, but the former Broyles Award winner (2015) and Big 12 Coach of the Year (2018) could feel right at home with Baylor. The program would provide him with a better chance for his offense to thrive against Big 12 defenses, and he’d be at a school that sets more realistic expectations each season for its football team. With College Football Playoff expansion on the horizon, it might only take two years before Riley has Baylor in the playoff mix, and competing for the Big 12 title each year would be doable.