Baylor University Football

A 2020 National Champion, 2021 Big 12 Conference Champion, 28-year coaching veteran and architect of the winningest season in school history, Dave Aranda was named the 28th head coach in Baylor Football history on Jan. 16, 2020. Aranda (uh-RAN-duh) came to Waco after four seasons as associate head coach and defensive coordinator at LSU, including a 2020 National Championship and a 2019 SEC Championship. Widely considered one of the top defensive minds in football, Aranda has a track record of producing NFL-ready players. The Bears completed the sixth year under Aranda in 2025, highlighted by one of the nation's best offensive attacks under the leadership of star QB Sawyer Robertson, and standout skill-position offensive talents in TE Michael Trigg and WR Josh Cameron. The Bears finished 5-7, narrowly missing out on a fourth bowl bid under Aranda.

Former UIW wide receiver Anthony Marciano, who spent the last four seasons on the staff at Michigan and Florida, will join the Baylor football coaching staff as the assistant linebackers coach, it was announced on Wednesday. Marciano will assist Jamar Chaney with the inside linebackers unit in 2025, and joins the Baylor staff after spending the last three seasons on the staff at Michigan, including two seasons as a defensive analyst and one season as an assistant linebackers coach. He also spent a season as a graduate assistant, working with the secondary, at Florida in 2021, and three seasons as a graduate assistant coach at UIW. While at Michigan, Marciano helped lead the Wolverines to the 2023 National Championship, a pair of B1G Championships, two College Football Playoff bids, and a win in the 2024 Reliaquest Bowl.

Carson Hall, who spent the last two years at Western Kentucky and had previous coaching stops at Georgia and LSU, is in his first year as Baylor's assistant coach working with outside linebackers. Hall joins the Bears after spending the last two seasons as the defensive line coach at Western Kentucky and fresh off a promotion in January that saw him elevated to run-game coordinator. Hall previously spent two seasons as the assistant defensive line coach at his alma matter, Georgia, where the Bulldogs went 29-1 over the stretch and won a pair of national championships. A native of Dallas, Ga., Hall also coached a spring practice season at LSU, and did a two-year graduate assistant stop at Illinois and one season at Valdosta State, helping coach a national championship and 14-0 season in 2018. Hall, who played defensive line at Georgia from 2014-17, was named to the 30 Under 30 List of up-and-coming coaches by 247Sports in 2024.

Dallas Baker is in his fourth year as the Baylor wide receivers coach. Baker's 2024 receiver group was a standout positional unit on an eight-win team that advanced to the Texas Bowl. The Bears finished the year with wins in six straight to conclude the regular season, the longest such streak in program history. His unit in 2024 was led by a truly breakout season from Josh Cameron, a junior who had 52 catches for 754 yards and 10 TDs, which ranked 10th in single-season history and marked the most for a Bear since Tyquan Thornton had 10 in 2021. Only twice since 2017 has a Baylor player caught 10 or more TDs in a season. Cameron also pieced together an All-America season as a punt returner, averaging 20.7 yards per punt return, a school-record and finishing just shy of qualifying for the national lead. The 2024 receiving group also featured the debut season of Ashtyn Hawkins, a transfer from JUCO and Texas State, who had 45 catches for 567 yards and five TDs. Senior Hal Presley battled

Veteran defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield is in his second year as the defensive line coach at Baylor. He was announced on March 1, 2024. One of the nation's most accomplished defensive line coaches, Breckterfield joined the Baylor staff after working to lead Washington to the national championship game in 2023 and an 11-2 mark in 2022. He spent the 2021 season as the defensive line coach at Vanderbilt. A native of Kaneohe, Hawaii, Breckterfield served as Aranda's defensive line coach during the 2015 season at Wisconsin, Aranda's last year leading the Badger defense, which led the nation in scoring defense and ranked second in total defense. Breckterfield spent six seasons (2015-20) at Wisconsin. In his first year in Waco, Breckterfield helped the Bears make a drastic improvement as a defensive unit from the 2023 season. He spurred the Bears to an eight-win season and a berth in the Texas Bowl, with BU ripping of a school-record six-game winning streak to conclude the regular se

Jake Spavital is in his second year as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Baylor. One of the nation's most skilled offensive minds, Spavital transformed the Baylor offensive attack in his first year into one of the nation's best units. The Bears finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak, the longest such streak in program history, and was fueled by an electric offensive attack that ranked in among the nation's top six units over the final two months of the year. In October and November, Baylor ranked fifth in yards per game, fifth in yards per play and sixth in points per game nationally. While settling on a starting offensive line through the first six games of the year, with BU owning a 2-4 mark, the Bears averaged 41.3 points per game over the final six games of the regular season, including 505.5 yards per game and 242 rushing yards per contest. Overall on the year, the Bears ranked among the NCAA leaders in fewest tackles for a loss allowed (fourth)

Former All-Southeastern Conference linebacker Jamar Chaney is in his second year as Baylor's inside linebackers coach. He was announced in the role on Feb. 28, 2024. Chaney came to Waco after serving as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky in 2023, working with the outside linebackers. He previously spent the 2022 season as an analyst and recruiting coordinator at Florida, working with the linebackers, which followed two seasons at his alma mater, Mississippi State, as a senior defensive analyst. He was the assistant director of player personnel, focusing on high school relations at Florida in 2019. Chaney's impact on the Bears was immediate in 2024, helping Baylor win eight games and advance to the Texas Bowl. Baylor ripped of six straight wins to conclude the regular-season, the longest such streak in program history. His inside linebacker unit was historic, led by the dynamic duo of Matt Jones and Keaton Thomas.

A coaching veteran with nearly three decades of experience in the state of Texas, Jarrett Anderson is in his second year in 2025 as Baylor's tight ends coach. Anderson joined the Baylor staff after serving as the assistant offensive line coach at UTSA in 2023. His time in San Antonio followed a 24-year tenure at TCU that saw him serve as a position coach for several offensive groups and serve as the co-offensive coordinator for five seasons. Anderson has coached tight ends, offensive line, running backs and wide receivers over his career at TCU and UTSA and brings over 25 years of collegiate coaching experience in the state of Texas to the Bears in 2024. He was the co-offensive coordinator for the Frogs from 2009-13, helping TCU set a bevy of offensive school records.

One of the top recruiting minds in the state of Texas, Khenon Hall is in his second year as Baylor's associate head coach/running backs coach in 2025. In his first year in Waco, Hall had a drastic impact on the transformation of Baylor's offense into one of the nation's best under the direction of first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. Hall's dynamic running back group, led by freshman Bryson Washington and sophomore Dawson Pendergrass, spurred a six-game winning streak to conclude the regular season, the longest such streak in program history, leading the Bears to the Kinder's Texas Bowl. Washington shattered the school record for freshman rushing yards, becoming the first to eclipse 1,000 yards with a 1,028 yard season on 175 carries, totaling 12 TDs, all despite missing the first two games of the season. He rolled to six 100-yard rushing outings, including four straight games and in five of six outings.

Mark Scott is in his second season on the Baylor coaching staff and his first as the special teams coordinator in 2025. He also led the special teams in 2024 as a quality control coach. Scott joins the Bears after a strong tenure as the special teams coordinator at Houston from 2020-23, which followed the 2019 season that saw him serve as an analyst working with special teams. Scott also worked on the staff at West Virginia from 2012-18, in a variety of roles, including a graduate assistant (2012-14), as a defensive assistant also working with special teams (2015-16) and as an assistant coach working with linebackers and special teams (2017-18). A native of Defiance, Ohio, Scott has also gained experience at Trine University (2011), working with outside linebackers and special teams, Indianapolis University (2008-10), working with defensive backs and outside linebackers and at his alma matter Hillsdale College (2007), where he coached linebackers.

Matt Powledge – who spent the 2022 season as the co-defensive coordinator at Oregon following two years as the safeties and special teams coordinator at Baylor – was named the defensive coordinator for the Bears, it was announced on Dec. 29, 2022. Powledge rejoined the Baylor coaching staff following a season as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Oregon in 2022. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on Aranda's staff in Waco, following two-year stints at Louisiana-Lafayette (2018-19), ULM (2016-17) and Sam Houston (2014-15). He opened his coaching career at Kentucky (2013), Northwestern State (2012) and Southeastern Louisiana (2010-11) after playing fullback for his hometown Sam Houston (2005-09). Powledge helped spur a defensive turnaround in 2024, as the Bears won eight games and advanced to the Texas Bowl. Powledge's defense sparked a six-game winning streak to conclude the regular-season, the longest such streak in program history.

Paul Gonzales, who spent the last 13 years on the staff at TCU, is in his first season as the Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/ Cornerbacks coach at Baylor in 2025. Gonzales came to Baylor after establishing himself as one of the top secondary assistant coaches in college football over 13 years at TCU, coming up under former Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson before continuing on the staff under current TCU head coach Sonny Dykes. A native of San Jose, Calif., Gonzales has spent the last seven seasons coaching the safeties for the Horned Frogs, which followed three seasons as the cornerbacks coach, and three as a graduate assistant with the safeties and linebackers, before being promoted by Patterson to full-time cornerbacks coach for the final three stanzas. Gonzales also coached at Pacific (2010-11) before joining Patterson's staff in Fort Worth. He coached defensive backs at his alma matter, UC Davis from 2008-09 after a season as an assistant coach at Pioneer High School.

Rhett Holcomb is in his fourth year on the coaching staff at Baylor and his second as assistant quarterbacks coach in 2026. Holcomb joined the Baylor coaching staff in March of 2022 after spending the previous two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant coach at Texas A&M. Holcomb spent three seasons as a student equipment manager for Texas A&M and then served as a member of the football personnel staff and as a student-assistant coach for one season. During his time with Texas A&M and Baylor, Holcomb has been a part of three bowl game titles and helped led the team to four bowls, including championships in the 2018 TaxSlayer Bowl, the 2019 Texas Bowl and the 2020 Orange Bowl, in addition to the 2022 Armed Forces Bowl with the Bears. Holcomb had a major impact on first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital in 2024, helping spur the offensive unit into one of the nation's best over the last half of the year.