Robert Griffin III said Monday that he is interested in becoming Baylor's next football coach. ESPN quoted him as saying he is '100 percent' interested. CBS Sports' Brad Crawford ran it as '100% interested' and asked whether Baylor's former Heisman Trophy winner could be a serious candidate to replace Dave Aranda. ESPN describes Griffin as the Bears' only Heisman winner. The quote comes a day after Baylor fired Aranda on Sunday.
Yahoo Sports, which had the most to say about the reaction, notes that Griffin has worked as a FOX Sports analyst since his playing career ended. It also says he has no coaching experience at the college or professional level. Yahoo says the news shocked college football. It headlined a roundup of fan responses with lines such as 'No Coaching Experience but Sure' and 'Big Comedy Routine'. None of the feed summaries say Baylor has contacted Griffin or has any shortlist. We can't say how seriously the school is taking his interest.
The timing follows a bad week for the program. Baylor is 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12, eighth in the conference, and has lost two straight. On Saturday the Bears lost 25-24 at Kansas, a one-point loss. The week before they lost 17-6 to TCU, and they scored 6 points in that game. In between, they beat Arizona State 55-19 on Oct. 3.
4-3, 2-2 conf8th in Big 12Streak L2
Aranda's archive record at Baylor, which runs from 2020 through this season, is 40-38. It includes a 12-2 season in 2021 and a 3-9 season in 2023. Last year's team went 5-7. So the opening comes after a long, uneven run. It does not come after a collapse from a strong position.
The next job for Baylor is to play, and the Bears visit UCF on Friday, Oct. 30. The sources we have don't say who will coach that game. They also give no timeline for a search or a list of other candidates, and they don't say whether Griffin's interest will lead to a conversation with the school.
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