Baylor's Extra Defensive Spending Shows Bears Aim to 'Shut People Out' in 2026

It's Joe Klanderman's first season at Baylor, leading the charge as the Bears' new defensive coordinator, but he already has a close relationship with Dave Aranda. Coach Aranda made the hard choice of giving up playcalling duty on the defensive side of the football after a 5-7 season in 2025.

Matt Powledge moved on and Aranda hired Klanderman after he turned Kansas State into one of the top defenses in the Big 12. The 'Cats were known for their ability to create turnovers and sack the quarterback — something he hopes to bring to Baylor.

But as of now, Klanderman is bringing his own scheme to Baylor and is also leaning on coach Aranda for any help needed.

Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda on the sidelines against the UCF Knights — Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

"Yeah, he's been awesome," said Klanderman. "I think he is putting a master class on in terms of team building right now. And what he's doing with the team and the attitude of the team, it's awesome to watch and be a part of. And so he's been around the defense, and I love having him. He sits in the offense meeting sometimes, he sits in our meeting sometimes.

"And when he's in there with us, I love asking his opinion on things, because he's a really astute mind that way. So he's been phenomenal. Some of this stuff, he's been exposed to so much. So he just kind of can reference things. But I love pinging ideas off of him as much as I can."

Putting money on the defensive side of the ball

Once spring ball opened, Aranda talked about the hard moments of self-scouting following a tough 2025 campaign. But after hiring Klanderman, it allowed Aranda to view things from a new standpoint and put more NIL money toward the Bears' defense.

Aranda said Baylor spent too much money on the offense last season and not enough on the defense. Of course, that bodes well for Klanderman and will likely make his job easier with better players in Waco.

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler (0) celebrates — Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

While Klanderman didn't overly acknowledge the NIL portion of things, he did say it means Aranda is hoping to shut teams down this year by prioritizing that side of the football.

"Yeah, I don't get into that too much. But I think it means that he wants to play that style of football," said Klanderman. "We're not gonna try to win games 53 to 51. I mean, we're gonna try to shut people out. And that's why I came here, because I thought we could do that. I thought, I know this place, I know Baylor, I know the hardworking blue collar mentality of Baylor. And I think that the really good teams here have had good offenses to be sure, but they've also had some stifling defenses here too. So I wanna represent that as best as I can, and so does he."