Baylor Bears Hire Oregon's Matt Powledge As Defensive Coordinator
Following a rough season on the field, the Baylor Bears made a big change in their staff, firing defensive coordinator, Ron Roberts.
And now, they have found his replacement, hiring Oregon co-defensive coordinator Matt Powledge on Thursday morning, the school announced.
Before spending last year at Oregon, Powledge spent two seasons as the safeties and special teams coordinator at Baylor under Dave Aranda.
“We are thrilled to welcome Matt back to Waco,” Aranda said. “Matt is an elite defensive mind who has a great understanding of our system, on and off the field. His experience both on our staff and elsewhere, paired with his understanding of person over player and his ability to connect with student-athletes, make him an ideal fit to serve as our defensive coordinator.”
Powledge helped the Ducks to a 10-win season, a 7-2 conference record, and a Holiday Bowl win over North Carolina.
The Ducks also had three wins over top-15 teams in 2023, including a wins over then-No. 9 UCLA and then-No. 10 Utah.
Powledge also played a major role during his time in Waco of helping the Bears to develop an elite defense, helping to put players such as Jalen Pitre in the NFL.
With Powledge coaching the safeties in 2021, Baylor ranked among the NCAA leaders in a bevy of categories, including fifth in interceptions (17) and 14th in scoring defense (19.2 points per game allowed). The Bears defense also held their 2021 opponents to 13.1 points below their season-scoring average
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