10/26/2026 10:55:00 PM | Football
Interim head coach Klanderman wants to be 'that spark' for Bears
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Even after Kansas State coach Chris Klieman retired at the end of the 2025 season, Joe Klanderman had the option of staying with the Wildcats as their defensive coordinator and staying in his comfort zone.
But when Dave Aranda offered him the chance to come to Baylor, "just something inside of me felt right to be here in Waco, to be at Baylor. And here we are today."
When Aranda was let go on Sunday, following the Bears' 25-24 loss at Kansas, Klanderman was named the interim head coach by Vice President and Director of Athletics Doug McNamee.
"I want to thank Jovan (Overshown), and I want to thank Doug for entrusting me with this opportunity to be involved with this program and the history of the program and the tradition of the program . . . and what it can be," Klanderman said in Monday's weekly press conference. "I'm so excited to have this opportunity, and I thank you for the trust that you've put in me to lead it."
Klanderman called the Sunday announcement "a time of shock," but by a practice later that day, "we got them back in the flow, back doing what they do."
"I've got to tell you, I thought the energy was fantastic; I thought the camaraderie was fantastic," said Klanderman, who was part of four FCS national championships at North Dakota State before spending the previous seven seasons at K-State. "I saw those guys celebrating with each other. . . . I think in a way, this is galvanizing for these guys, and I'm hoping that that's apparent on the field on Saturdays moving forward."
As the interim head coach, Klanderman said he promised to "try to bring a jolt of energy that I think this program desperately needs."
"I think the players need it, I think the staff needs it, I think the fanbase needs it, I think the alumni need it," he said. "And I want to try to provide that. I want to try to be that spark in any way that I can through who I am. I'm not going to be anything that I'm not. . . . This is Waco's team, this is Central Texas's team. I want people to know what's going on here. I think we're taking steps in that direction already, trying to provide a jolt of energy."
Klanderman also promised that he would do everything possible to "secure for the future what could be a heck of a football team coming back in 2027."
"We're going to work and attack every game, and we're going to move forward," he said. "But I also understand the nature of college football. When something like this happens, the sharks are circling. I want to A), get stronger relationships built; and B), get agreements in place or whatever, to try to help this football team be in as strong a position next year as I know that it can be."
Even at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12, Klanderman said "every goal that that we had set in the preseason is still in front of us right now." To that end, he promised to "find some measure of complementary football" in the last five games of the regular season.
That doesn't mean all three phases will be going great at the same time, he said.
"When one of those phases is struggling, complementary football is how can the other phases pick that phase up?" Klanderman said. "The measure of a great team is not the absence of pressure. It's that no one person or no one unit or no one anything has to bear that pressure alone. How can we balance that out throughout the organization? And how much can I take on as much of that through myself, so the players can go out there and play free? That's my goal."
Klanderman said it's a "scary thing" to face a UCF team (4-4, 2-3) coming off a 39-31 upset of then-No. 2 BYU on a short week, facing the Knights at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday at Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando, Fla.
"On a short week, and especially given the circumstances here, it's going to be a rules and principles kind of game," he said. "I don't know that we're going to be able to invent a lot of things and do a lot of fancy things that you might do on a normal week."
In terms of the offensive side, which struggled in back-to-back losses to TCU and Kansas, Klanderman said he wants to "unfetter those guys and let those guys get going again and let those guys play, man."
"And I want to cut (offensive coordinator Jake Spavital) loose, and I want him to be as creative as he wants to be, because we're going to have to be," he said. "That's what he and I have talked about so far. As far as (being the interim head coach), has he given me advice on that? I think he kind of gave me that good-luck wink."
Calling the atmosphere for the black-out game against TCU two weeks ago as "magical," Klanderman said his message to fans was that he and the players are going to "give our very best."
"I told the guys last night that my only goal is that we go out there and play with passion and energy," he said. "You're going to get an energized football team, you're going to get a group of guys that are going to go out there and play for each other. And win, lose or draw, I think the Baylor fans will be proud of what we put on the field, representing them."
Friday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Mike Monaco, Jordan Rodgers and Dana Boyle calling the action.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Even after Kansas State coach Chris Klieman retired at the end of the 2025 season, Joe Klanderman had the option of staying with the Wildcats as their defensive coordinator and staying in his comfort zone.
But when Dave Aranda offered him the chance to come to Baylor, "just something inside of me felt right to be here in Waco, to be at Baylor. And here we are today."
When Aranda was let go on Sunday, following the Bears' 25-24 loss at Kansas, Klanderman was named the interim head coach by Vice President and Director of Athletics Doug McNamee.
"I want to thank Jovan (Overshown), and I want to thank Doug for entrusting me with this opportunity to be involved with this program and the history of the program and the tradition of the program . . . and what it can be," Klanderman said in Monday's weekly press conference. "I'm so excited to have this opportunity, and I thank you for the trust that you've put in me to lead it."
Klanderman called the Sunday announcement "a time of shock," but by a practice later that day, "we got them back in the flow, back doing what they do."
"I've got to tell you, I thought the energy was fantastic; I thought the camaraderie was fantastic," said Klanderman, who was part of four FCS national championships at North Dakota State before spending the previous seven seasons at K-State. "I saw those guys celebrating with each other. . . . I think in a way, this is galvanizing for these guys, and I'm hoping that that's apparent on the field on Saturdays moving forward."
As the interim head coach, Klanderman said he promised to "try to bring a jolt of energy that I think this program desperately needs."
"I think the players need it, I think the staff needs it, I think the fanbase needs it, I think the alumni need it," he said. "And I want to try to provide that. I want to try to be that spark in any way that I can through who I am. I'm not going to be anything that I'm not. . . . This is Waco's team, this is Central Texas's team. I want people to know what's going on here. I think we're taking steps in that direction already, trying to provide a jolt of energy."
Klanderman also promised that he would do everything possible to "secure for the future what could be a heck of a football team coming back in 2027."
"We're going to work and attack every game, and we're going to move forward," he said. "But I also understand the nature of college football. When something like this happens, the sharks are circling. I want to A), get stronger relationships built; and B), get agreements in place or whatever, to try to help this football team be in as strong a position next year as I know that it can be."
Even at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12, Klanderman said "every goal that that we had set in the preseason is still in front of us right now." To that end, he promised to "find some measure of complementary football" in the last five games of the regular season.
That doesn't mean all three phases will be going great at the same time, he said.
"When one of those phases is struggling, complementary football is how can the other phases pick that phase up?" Klanderman said. "The measure of a great team is not the absence of pressure. It's that no one person or no one unit or no one anything has to bear that pressure alone. How can we balance that out throughout the organization? And how much can I take on as much of that through myself, so the players can go out there and play free? That's my goal."
Klanderman said it's a "scary thing" to face a UCF team (4-4, 2-3) coming off a 39-31 upset of then-No. 2 BYU on a short week, facing the Knights at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday at Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando, Fla.
"On a short week, and especially given the circumstances here, it's going to be a rules and principles kind of game," he said. "I don't know that we're going to be able to invent a lot of things and do a lot of fancy things that you might do on a normal week."
In terms of the offensive side, which struggled in back-to-back losses to TCU and Kansas, Klanderman said he wants to "unfetter those guys and let those guys get going again and let those guys play, man."
"And I want to cut (offensive coordinator Jake Spavital) loose, and I want him to be as creative as he wants to be, because we're going to have to be," he said. "That's what he and I have talked about so far. As far as (being the interim head coach), has he given me advice on that? I think he kind of gave me that good-luck wink."
Calling the atmosphere for the black-out game against TCU two weeks ago as "magical," Klanderman said his message to fans was that he and the players are going to "give our very best."
"I told the guys last night that my only goal is that we go out there and play with passion and energy," he said. "You're going to get an energized football team, you're going to get a group of guys that are going to go out there and play for each other. And win, lose or draw, I think the Baylor fans will be proud of what we put on the field, representing them."
Friday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Mike Monaco, Jordan Rodgers and Dana Boyle calling the action.
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