By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
After disappointing play from the Defense and Special Teams units, Baylor football decided to move on from defensive coordinator Ron Roberts along with Safeties and Special Teams Coach Ronnie Wheat on Thursday, as first reported by SicEm365.com.
Baylor athletics would not comment on personnel changes.
Roberts, one of head coach Dave Aranda’s longtime mentors, led a Bears defense that let up 370.3 yards per game, the fourth-lowest in the Big 12. Baylor also held its opponents to 26.6 points a contest, fifth-best in the conference.
Aranda, now in his third year at the helm, hired Roberts in 2020, Aranda’s first year. Roberts helped orchestrate the 2021 Bears defense that was a big part in the program’s best 12-2 season. That squad won the Big 12 championship outright for the first time since 2013 and won the 2022 Allstate Sugar Bowl in a defensive masterpiece.
But Baylor (6-6, 4-5 Big 12) has regressed mightily, ranking 66th nationally in points allowed and 80th against the pass. Prior to his time with the Bears, Roberts was the defensive coordinator at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
He’s also the former head coach at Delta State University and Southeastern Louisiana University and had Aranda as part of his staff in 2007.
Wheat was brought in by Aranda in January following two seasons with the University of Nevada, Reno. He was also around Aranda during their Louisiana State University days. Aranda was the defensive coordinator while Wheat was a defensive analyst. Nationally, Baylor ranks an abysmal 119th in special teams efficiency.
The two coaches are still listed on the team’s roster page, and no announcement has been made regarding the search for new candidates.
On Sunday, the Bears will find out which bowl game they are playing in.
