In October of last year, after a 31-24 win over Texas, Dave Aranda gave a speech in a room underneath the stadium. Aranda didn't celebrate a win over the Longhorns. He could not have smiled. The Aranda way is not that way. He gave the most innocuous answer to the questions. A reporter asked how the Bears have been able to prevent big plays. Aranda said that they called it the Berenstain Bears search. There is a book called "Old Hat, New Hat" where he wants a new hat. He is wearing all these hats. It's too loose and colorful. Yes, right? It's too bright. He put on his hat. That's what it was, right? That's right, naturally. Nobody in the wide, wide world of sports would've ever heard a Texas college football coach refer to his team as the Bears. The professor made his point and Aranda followed. The answers by Aranda's old bosses were not a performance. It wasn't intended to entertain, but to make a point and that's what it was. Being who you are is always best. If you compare your coaching philosophy to illustrated bears, you will be startled. #Baylor HC Dave Aranda was asked a question about their approach to defend big plays. The media room then got a lesson on the Berenstain Bears. pic.twitter.com/CuAADi60ht
Aranda did not know how different he was. It's in your head. It can be quite scary when you let it be known where you are and what you are thinking.
After a 12-2 season, a Big 12 championship, a Sugar Bowl victory and a ranking in the final, Aranda is not at LSU or any of the other openings where he drew interest. He signed a contract extension in order to stay in the area.
He says that a place like Baylor is where he can be himself.
In January 2020 Aranda helped LSU win a national title. Aranda was contacted by Mack Rhoades to gauge his interest in the Bears' head-coaching position.
Rhoades was on vacation in New Mexico and called Aranda from a closet. He couldn't help but think about the conversation while he was on the flight.
Rhoades said he got off the phone with him and said he liked him more than he thought. I don't know why I liked him more than I thought I would. I don't know why I connected with him. I think it was his authenticity, but I also think he saw himself as a good fit for the school. He explained that in a unique way. He understood that not all places were for him.
Aranda would have enough money to bechoosy. He was the highest-paid assistant coach in the country and came off a national championship. The noise around the program, from Les Miles' firing to Ed Orgeron's bravado, along with the pressure to win, had forced Aranda into a Bunker mentality.
When he was at LSU, Aranda kept a dark office with screens to break down tape, so he could just stay in his world. "I didn't really talk, and it got to the point where I was there long enough to where people understood that and they would protect me or shield me from talking." I'd take myself out a lot. I wouldn't engage as much as possible.
To be a head coach you have to speak. Aranda was looking for a new job when he decided to apply for the one at Bears. It's not for the power. The money or the thing. He said it was to force himself to change.
Aranda said that his oldest girl and son have everything he has. They could become a scientist. Put Dave in the corner if you want to figure it out. I did not want that for them. I was mad that I was modeling that for them because I knew they would become me. That was one of the reasons for wanting to move.
The Aranda experience is what those around him say it is. He tries to expand his mind and is a seekers.
Gary Andersen was the Wisconsin coach who hired Aranda at Utah State and took him to Madison. He was always looking for a new way to win. One thing I will never forget about him is the time I called the coach of the opponent. He would call whenever he wanted. Dave didn't care if someone said "no" or "I don't want to talk to you" He came back with a lot of information.
He was able to talk football with other coaches. Being the face of a program, a university, dealing with boosters, reporters and an entire staff of employees is not something that should be taken lightly. It was out of character for him to do that. She asked if he wanted to do that when he told her he was going to interview.
Aranda said that the woman said no. She was afraid of me. I was afraid as well.
One of Aranda's earliest and most trusted mentors, Dr. Jerry Lynch, is an acclaimed sports psychologist who has written 13 books on coaching and leadership and whose teachings have influenced Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr.
Lynch was drawn to Aranda even though he was a new coach at a small school.
Aranda, the son of Paul and Marguerite, Mexican immigrants from Guadalajara, did not play college football after sustaining multiple injuries in high school and fracturing his shoulder in a game, but he did play the rest of the game.
He lost his love for football. He failed a physical because of his shoulder issues. He was working as a security guard at a truck stop when he decided to visit a friend at Cal Lutheran, a Division III school about 100 miles west of Redlands and 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Cal Lu had a reputation for being a place for gym rats. He tried to play again, but his shoulder wouldn't let him.
Aranda was given a chance to become a student assistant and he was most comfortable focusing on ball. He was looking for a coach to talk to. Any person, anywhere. In 2001 he asked Lynch if he could make the 300-mile journey from Southern California to Santa Cruz to meet him.
Lynch doesn't do a lot of 1-on-1 meetings because his work often includes whole teams. In the past 30 years, Lynch has worked with teams that have made 54 Final Fours and won 36 national titles.
Lynch said there was something about Dave when he spoke to him. Through his words, I felt like a real person. There are three keys that draw me in. I saw the opportunity as an opportunity to learn more about this young man.
The two spent three days on the beach talking about their interests. The two have a kinship that goes back more than two decades. Aranda is a rising star in the coaching profession and just wrote the foreword to Lynch's newest book Aranda was compared to two of Lynch's best friends.
Lynch said that many football coaches feel like they have to scream, yell, walk up and down the sideline in order to motivate them. People don't motivate you. Inside, the motivation comes from. Dave is aware of that. He knows it's coming from inside. He creates an environment where people are not afraid and that's what he does. They don't fear to fail. The environment is created by Steve Kerr The environment is created by Phil Jackson People can be who they need to be in a safe environment. That's all I can say.
There is a theory about why Aranda has been successful that has been put forward by a member of the Baylor football team.
I don't think Dave Aranda would raise his hand if someone asked him if he wanted to be a coach. It's similar to Plato's "Republic" One of the best rulers for a kingdom is the one who doesn't want to be a ruler.
The head coach quotes from the Bears and the middle linebacker quotes from the Greeks.
Bears defensive line coach Dennis Johnson welcomed him to the school.
This is Johnson's seventh year working alongside Aranda, beginning at LSU, then making the leap to Waco, and enduring a brutal 2020 season in which the Bears' season opener was canceled three times.
He knew that Aranda would turn it around. After LSU won the national championship, Johnson sat next to Aranda in New Orleans and still marveled at his reaction.
He was sitting in his locker after the game, Johnson said. He asked, "That's it?" We just won a title. He wanted it to be more. There is more to come. I think it's the reason he went to Bears.
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The conference is called thePac-12.
Aranda is always deeper. During his time at the podium at the Big 12 media days, he was asked for his book recommendations.
He said there was a book by Shawn Ginwright. It's about changing society. It's great. He talks about going from transactional to transformational, but the hardest look is looking in the mirror, and he talks about going from a lens to a mirror. The mirror is not a lie. That's a great one. Richard Rohr has a lot of books. Another author that I adore is brenda brown.
The "Velveteen Rabbit," a 1922 children's book about toys who hope to become real, is the most important book in Aranda's collection. It's a perfect example of how football can help you become a better person.
In his mind, Aranda offered a simple explanation of why these metaphors are so effective in teaching, and it sounded more suited for a meditation app than for football.
Hold on, we'll just let him go.
There is something about books and movies for young people. There's a hero's journey behind it in a lot of those. There's a quest and some moral. There is some change in those stories. The "Velveteen Rabbit" would become a reality. What it takes to be real is given by the Skin Horse. People break too easily. People are too sharp. They aren't real. You are torn once you are real. Other people that are real don't care about that. There is a real recognition of real.
We used a scene from the movie "pig" before the season started. There is a scene where Nicolas Cage looks for his pig. The pig is a type of pig. He was well known as a chef. He wasn't happy. People would go to his restaurant to make a statement. He knew all the people in the restaurant and remembered everything about them. They had no idea about the food. They just wanted to take a picture at the restaurant and so he went into the wilderness with his pig in Oregon. He came into town to try to find his pig. The man is at a restaurant. The owner of the restaurant came in to see him. The man looks like a hobo. He just doesn't look right. I think he's a rabbit.
The chef is finally recognizing him. It's a nice place. Nicolas Cage's character asks, "What did you want to cook when you were younger?" He said he wanted a beer and burger place. He wants to know why you aren't doing it. He said that nobody would eat it. This is what people like. Nicolas Cage told him to stop trying to be something for the people. Everyone can't see. You don't notice. People don't care about you. You need to be who you are.
That was a large scene. There was a lot of pressure going into the season for both coaches and players. This is not about saying, "Eff this, or eff you," right? I was able to see that scene. The rabbit was called Velveteen. There are morals in those stories. I think it's a good idea to go back to those because I think they're universal.
The Bears were inspired by a pig and a chef who might or might not have been the Velveteen Rabbit.
This is one of the Aranda hallmarks that seems to have spread.
"My executive team will tell you half the stuff I now tell them," Rhoades said. I didn't do that." It's due to Dave.
After Aranda explained how they're really about making a decision to do something hard, failing at it, then getting yourself back up and out of it, Johnson had a completely different view of "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight Rises."
Johnson said that he can see meaning in things that are entertainment. It's crazy." He sees it like that.
Aranda is often described as unique. It is a way of saying what others are not afraid to say.
Dana Holgorsen was an assistant at Texas Tech when Aranda was there. We all thought he was weird.
Aranda is not offended. He chuckled when he remembered seeing Holgorsen at a Houston Touchdown Club event.
Dana came out of the corner and said, "Dave, we always thought you were weird and honest, but now that's a commodity." You have done a good job.
The person is correct. Players are choosing schools based on a variety of factors. There are players who would rather be challenged than processed. In the past, it has been the other way around. It can now offer something else.
"He knows who he is, that's the one thing about him," said Texas Tech's new coach, who was retained by Aranda when he took over for Rhule. Everyone has a helmet. Everyone has a large stadium. How will you separate that? You can almost use that to separate yourself from the norm of what college football is, because he's comfortable in his own skin.
In the living room of recruits, how does the velveteen rabbit speech play? Three out of 10 qualified recruits might be a good fit for Aranda's program. He wants his staff to study those prospects because he preaches people over players.
They have their conversations with me at that point. It becomes a tight pool. We want to slow down. We don't want to do things hastily. I'm trying to talk to some of the teachers about how to treat people who can't do anything for him.
There is a person who believes in something. His son, Austin, is an elite 11 quarterback recruit from Dripping Springs, Texas, in the class of 2023, and he and his wife are Texas A&M alumni. They went through the recruiting process and were struck by the conversations with Aranda, especially once Austin's stock started skyrocketing.
Since he's been at A&M, Austin has attended Jimbo Fisher's coach's night events and told him he'd be his quarterback. A&M didn't offer immediately, while Baylor did. Austin developed a strong relationship with Aranda because of their low-key personality.
If Aranda isn't there, we wouldn't go to Bears. That was how important Aranda was. People tell you not to pick the college because the coach always moves around. He said he's been to LSU and the crazy places. I don't feel right there. I feel right here. They allow me to do strange things. I'm not leaving and I can be me. I think it's good here.
Austin was curious about exploring the offers because he had always wanted to play for Texas A&M. He was worried about looking into them and called Aranda.
"He said, 'Look, Austin, I'm not going to be angry at all,'" You can leave." It's fine. I'm familiar with your personality. You're going to like it here. I'm sure you'll return because I know you well. He was calm about it.
One of the biggest recruiting wins in school history was achieved by Aranda when Austin decided to stay with the Bears.
The closer on the staff is Aranda.
He is the leader in recruiting because he is honest about who he is and what the program is.
Next year will see the arrival of five new teams in the Big 12 and the challenge for the Bears is to stay in the league. With a smaller recruiting pool and a coach that could be in demand, the Bears will have to work to keep it all on track.
He will decide at some point in time that it's time to move on and impact lives in a different way. He is in the process of really impacting people and doing it in a unique way. It will be a work in progress for him because of who he is. He is the head football coach, so he finds his comfort level when he has to be the guy. Since we hired him, I have been able to see that journey.
Ron Roberts has known Aranda since 2000, when he was the head coach at Delta State in Mississippi.
Roberts said that he was breaking down barriers from players to coaches and players to each other. That is why we are successful.
For the first time in school history, Baylor is the preseason pick to win the Big 12, and Aranda is leading them there in a way no one has done it before. The man who said he was called "Fencepost" in high school because he didn't talk, the man who sat in a dark room and said he felt like a machine, and the man who said he felt like a machine, all have something in common with the man who said The velveteen rabbit is real.
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