2 potential candidates to coach the defensive line at Baylor in 2026
The 2025 football campaign has ended and Baylor’s defensive line coach and former Oregon State great Inoke Breckterfield is going home to take the same position with his alma mater.
In 1998, Breckterfield was a first-team All-Pac 10 Conference selection, third-team All-American and was named the conference’s best defensive linemen and received the Morris Trophy. He is second all-time at Oregon State in both sacks and tackles for loss.
In 2024, under Breckterfield’s tutelage, Baylor ranked fifth in the Big 12 Conference with 69 tackles for loss.
Now, head coach Dave Aranda must look for a replacement to coach his defenders along the line of scrimmage. Here are two potential candidates that probably should get at least a phone call.
Ed Orgeron
“Coach O” is known as one of the best defensive line coaches in the sport and is a great recruiter. Orgeron was the Associated Press (AP) Coach of the Year in 2019, leading the LSU Tigers to a national title and undefeated season (15-0).
He has had numerous coaching stops in his career, and a few stand out. From 1988-1992, Orgeron coached the defensive line for the Miami Hurricanes under both Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. During his stint in Coral Gables, Orgeron coached All-Americans Cortez Kennedy, Russell Maryland and Warren Sapp and won two national titles.
From 1998 to 2004, Orgeron coached at USC under Pete Carroll and won National Recruiter of the Year. Orgeron coached Kenechi Udeze to an All-American season in 2003. Udeze led the FBS in sacks (16.5) and tackles for loss (26). During Orgeron's time under Carroll, USC won two national championships.
Orgeron coached the defensive line and was defensive coordinator at USC for a second time under head coach Lane Kiffin from 2010 to 2013. Later, Orgeron became the interim head coach for the Trojans when Kiffin was fired.
At LSU, from 2015 and 2016, Orgeron coached the Tigers defensive line under head coach Les Miles. Orgeron coached and developed both Arden Key and Davon Godchaux to All-SEC selections.
Orgeron and Aranda have a working history together. Aranda was LSU's defensive coordinator in 2019 under Orgeron when the Tigers won it all.
Gary Patterson
Patterson, a former consultant at Baylor in 2024, is a former TCU head coach. While with the Horned Frogs, Patterson earned National Coach of the Year honors in both 2009 and 2014. In the 2014 season, Patterson led the Horned Frogs to a No. 6 final ranking in the AP Top 25 Poll.
In addition, Patterson has won conference coach of the year awards in three different leagues (Conference USA, the Mountain West Conference and the Big 12 Conference).
Patterson posted 11 seasons with double-digit victories. In 2010, Patterson coached TCU to an undefeated season and a 21-19 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Early in his coaching career, Patterson was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico in 1996 and 1997. From 1998 to 2000, Patterson served as the defensive coordinator at TCU under head coach Dennis Franchione. In the 1998 Sun Bowl, Patterson’s defense held the USC Trojans to -23 yards rushing in the Horned Frogs 28-19 win.
When a team has a ton of tackles for loss, that is a sign of good defensive line play and penetration into the opponent's backfield. Coach Aranda has a chance to make a really great hire and bring some spark and enthusiasm to a unit that ranked last in the Big 12 in that defensive category in 2025.
More From Baylor On SI
- Baylor in the early running for Oklahoma State safety
- Baylor plummets in 2026 recruiting rankings as Texas rivals surge ahead
- Baylor set to lose defensive line coach to Oregon State
- Early Signing Day: Productive 4-star WR London Smith signs with Baylor Football
- Early Signing Day: Liberty Christian QB Quinn Murphy signs with Baylor Football
Tony comes to On SI with six years of experience writing about sports online. His work has been published on such sites as The Gridiron News, Mike Farrell Sports, YardBarker, Athlon Sports and College Football Backers. Tony is a U.S. Air Force veteran and is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).