FRESH START
12/16/2025 2:31:00 PM | Football
FB: New DC Klanderman brings an impressive 'body of work'
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – One thing is very clear, Joe Klanderman wasn't brought to Baylor as the defensive coordinator to keep the status quo.
"There will be considerable changes to what we do and what we may look like," the 46-year-old Klanderman said at Monday's introductory press conference. "I think in order to get a fresh start, we probably need some change. That's not a (shot) at anything they've done here previously. But I think these guys want to get a new beginning. My interactions with them, they're excited about it, and I'm excited to bring it."
While Klanderman's Kansas State defenses have consistently ranked among the best in the Big 12 in his six-year tenure as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator, Baylor's defense slipped toward the bottom in the league's statistics in 2025, allowing 32.6 points and 392.1 yards per game.
"Just throughout the season, I'm watching a lot of K-State defense," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said, "because they really had these teams figured out. They're pressuring when they need to pressure. They're not getting caught with screens versus pressure or movement. You're just going through it, and this guy's got these other guys figured out. . . . Just way impressed with his body of work."
Klanderman's "body of work" started with 12 years at Minnesota State, his alma mater, including the last seven as defensive coordinator. During that time, the former college defensive lineman coached at all three levels, starting with the D-line for the first three years, then defensive backs for two years and linebackers for the last seven seasons.
"There's a lot of ideas out there, but they're just ideas unless you make them your own," said Klanderman, who will work with the safeties at Baylor. "I didn't go to some DB clinic and hear some fancy terms, and that's how I do it. Everything I'm doing and teaching, I've learned through trial and error. Some things work; some things don't work. . . . I've coached at all three levels, and I've done it a lot of different places and a lot of different ways. And it works."
After helping Minnesota State make the NCAA Division II playoffs in four of his last six seasons with the Mavericks, including the national semifinals in 2012, Klanderman moved up to the FCS level with Chris Klieman at North Dakota State.
In an unprecedented run (2014-18), the Bison won four FCS national championships, the defense ranked in the top five nationally all five years and his defensive back room tallied more than 100 combined interceptions. In 2018, his final year with the Bison, they ranked second in scoring defense and interceptions and fifth in yards allowed.
Following Klieman to Kansas State in 2019, Klanderman was promoted to the DC role in 2020 and helped the Wildcats win the Big 12 title two years later with a fourth-down goal-line stand in a 31-28 win over No. 3 TCU in the conference championship game.
Klanderman describes Klieman, who retired at the end of the 2025 season, as a "phenomenal people person, one of the best people I know."
"His motto is, I want to impact someone on a daily basis," Klanderman said of Klieman. "And he lived it. If I've taken nothing else from him, that's it. I owe a lot to that man, and I'm so thankful for him. I hope that I can live up to the standard that he set. There wasn't a day that went by where, it didn't matter who you were, what your role was, we all had a role within the organization, he was touching your life. I'm just hoping I can do the same."
Over the last five years, Klanderman's defenses ranked in the nation's top 30 in defensive efficiency rating, including a high-water mark of 14th in that Big 12 championship season in 2022. This year's defense ranked second nationally in fumbles recovered (13) and tied for fourth in defensive takeaways (26).
"I know that the Big 12 is a different animal now," Klanderman said. "The Big 12 is a wide-open, offensive league, a lot of diversity in the different things that you see. I think to be a coordinator in this league, it's nice to have league familiarity. I think Coach Aranda respected the fact that I've been in this league and I know what this league is about.
"Throughout my body of work, I've been able to have the best defenses in this league. So, I know how to succeed here. I think that was the attraction for him. My attraction was to work for a great man."
After being a part of championship teams and championship programs at the Division II, FCS and FBS levels, Klanderman said he wouldn't have taken the Baylor job "if it weren't for (Aranda)."
"I know that wherever there are great people, if you can get those people rowing in the same direction, great things can happen," he said. "And it always starts with the top man."
Having already met with several of the returning defensive players since arriving in Waco last Friday, Klanderman said he sees a "lot of hungry players in the building."
"There are a lot of guys that want to be great. There are a lot of guys that want to do it for the university and have a lot of pride in the university," he said. "That's the best starting point. I know that there's talent here, from playing Baylor for years and years. I know that you can attract talent here. And I know that we can get this thing flipped pretty quickly."
After pulling the double duty of calling the defensive plays for the last two seasons, Aranda said that Klanderman calling the plays will give him the chance as the head coach to "have the eyes to see all the things that are making up the thing and really work to push our coaches and our players to a higher standard. And I'm excited to do that."
Joe and his wife, Amanda, have four children: Elle, Corryn, Jarrett and James.
Even with the Bears coming off a losing season and potentially losing players in the transfer portal, Klanderman said "uncertainty is where you find the most growth, where you find the most passion."
"I'm thrilled to get uncomfortable, so to speak," he said. "This opportunity is something that is humongous. I really feel like this is something that we can take great leaps quickly. That's why I'm excited to get going."
The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, so Aranda said the top priority is the "retention of our guys."
"We're really fighting for the guys that want to be here and want to do all the things that Baylor requires, all this team is going to require," Aranda said. "We're really working hard for those guys. That's going to be relationships, that's going to be honest conversations. And then two would be, 'Hey, let's identify guys that fit the needs we've got. Let's have a ranking of how this works . . . so that when the portal does open, we have a list to go to."
Baylor football will open the 2026 season with a neutral-site matchup against Auburn in the Aflec Kickoff Game on Sept. 5 at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – One thing is very clear, Joe Klanderman wasn't brought to Baylor as the defensive coordinator to keep the status quo.
"There will be considerable changes to what we do and what we may look like," the 46-year-old Klanderman said at Monday's introductory press conference. "I think in order to get a fresh start, we probably need some change. That's not a (shot) at anything they've done here previously. But I think these guys want to get a new beginning. My interactions with them, they're excited about it, and I'm excited to bring it."
While Klanderman's Kansas State defenses have consistently ranked among the best in the Big 12 in his six-year tenure as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator, Baylor's defense slipped toward the bottom in the league's statistics in 2025, allowing 32.6 points and 392.1 yards per game.
"Just throughout the season, I'm watching a lot of K-State defense," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said, "because they really had these teams figured out. They're pressuring when they need to pressure. They're not getting caught with screens versus pressure or movement. You're just going through it, and this guy's got these other guys figured out. . . . Just way impressed with his body of work."
Klanderman's "body of work" started with 12 years at Minnesota State, his alma mater, including the last seven as defensive coordinator. During that time, the former college defensive lineman coached at all three levels, starting with the D-line for the first three years, then defensive backs for two years and linebackers for the last seven seasons.
"There's a lot of ideas out there, but they're just ideas unless you make them your own," said Klanderman, who will work with the safeties at Baylor. "I didn't go to some DB clinic and hear some fancy terms, and that's how I do it. Everything I'm doing and teaching, I've learned through trial and error. Some things work; some things don't work. . . . I've coached at all three levels, and I've done it a lot of different places and a lot of different ways. And it works."
After helping Minnesota State make the NCAA Division II playoffs in four of his last six seasons with the Mavericks, including the national semifinals in 2012, Klanderman moved up to the FCS level with Chris Klieman at North Dakota State.
In an unprecedented run (2014-18), the Bison won four FCS national championships, the defense ranked in the top five nationally all five years and his defensive back room tallied more than 100 combined interceptions. In 2018, his final year with the Bison, they ranked second in scoring defense and interceptions and fifth in yards allowed.
Following Klieman to Kansas State in 2019, Klanderman was promoted to the DC role in 2020 and helped the Wildcats win the Big 12 title two years later with a fourth-down goal-line stand in a 31-28 win over No. 3 TCU in the conference championship game.
Klanderman describes Klieman, who retired at the end of the 2025 season, as a "phenomenal people person, one of the best people I know."
"His motto is, I want to impact someone on a daily basis," Klanderman said of Klieman. "And he lived it. If I've taken nothing else from him, that's it. I owe a lot to that man, and I'm so thankful for him. I hope that I can live up to the standard that he set. There wasn't a day that went by where, it didn't matter who you were, what your role was, we all had a role within the organization, he was touching your life. I'm just hoping I can do the same."
Over the last five years, Klanderman's defenses ranked in the nation's top 30 in defensive efficiency rating, including a high-water mark of 14th in that Big 12 championship season in 2022. This year's defense ranked second nationally in fumbles recovered (13) and tied for fourth in defensive takeaways (26).
"I know that the Big 12 is a different animal now," Klanderman said. "The Big 12 is a wide-open, offensive league, a lot of diversity in the different things that you see. I think to be a coordinator in this league, it's nice to have league familiarity. I think Coach Aranda respected the fact that I've been in this league and I know what this league is about.
"Throughout my body of work, I've been able to have the best defenses in this league. So, I know how to succeed here. I think that was the attraction for him. My attraction was to work for a great man."
After being a part of championship teams and championship programs at the Division II, FCS and FBS levels, Klanderman said he wouldn't have taken the Baylor job "if it weren't for (Aranda)."
"I know that wherever there are great people, if you can get those people rowing in the same direction, great things can happen," he said. "And it always starts with the top man."
Having already met with several of the returning defensive players since arriving in Waco last Friday, Klanderman said he sees a "lot of hungry players in the building."
"There are a lot of guys that want to be great. There are a lot of guys that want to do it for the university and have a lot of pride in the university," he said. "That's the best starting point. I know that there's talent here, from playing Baylor for years and years. I know that you can attract talent here. And I know that we can get this thing flipped pretty quickly."
After pulling the double duty of calling the defensive plays for the last two seasons, Aranda said that Klanderman calling the plays will give him the chance as the head coach to "have the eyes to see all the things that are making up the thing and really work to push our coaches and our players to a higher standard. And I'm excited to do that."
Joe and his wife, Amanda, have four children: Elle, Corryn, Jarrett and James.
Even with the Bears coming off a losing season and potentially losing players in the transfer portal, Klanderman said "uncertainty is where you find the most growth, where you find the most passion."
"I'm thrilled to get uncomfortable, so to speak," he said. "This opportunity is something that is humongous. I really feel like this is something that we can take great leaps quickly. That's why I'm excited to get going."
The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, so Aranda said the top priority is the "retention of our guys."
"We're really fighting for the guys that want to be here and want to do all the things that Baylor requires, all this team is going to require," Aranda said. "We're really working hard for those guys. That's going to be relationships, that's going to be honest conversations. And then two would be, 'Hey, let's identify guys that fit the needs we've got. Let's have a ranking of how this works . . . so that when the portal does open, we have a list to go to."
Baylor football will open the 2026 season with a neutral-site matchup against Auburn in the Aflec Kickoff Game on Sept. 5 at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Baylor Football: Dave Aranda Media Availability | December 15, 2025
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Baylor Football: Joe Klanderman Introductory Press Conference | December 15, 2025
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Joe Klanderman's Message to the Baylor Family
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People is Always the No. 1 Priority - Baylor Defensive Coordinator Joe Klanderman
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