By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Former Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III is set to interview with Baylor for the head coaching position, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
Griffin expressed his desire to take up the permanent head coach position on the Dan Patrick Show shortly after Dave Aranda was fired following the Bears’ 25-24 loss to Kansas on Oct. 24.
“Yes, 100%,” Griffin said after being asked if he was interested in the job. “If Baylor wants to get back to winning and have a university that isn’t just respectable on the football field, but the fans can be proud of, they need people who know what it looks like to win at Baylor. So yeah, I would 100% be interested. I talked with the athletic director, who is a guy in Doug McNamee that knows what it looks like to win at Baylor, know how you have to win at Baylor and recruit to Baylor to make those things happen.”
Griffin enters the interview with no prior coaching experience at the collegiate level, but he does hold a heralded spot in Baylor football history. Griffin is the only Bear to win the Heisman Trophy while spending four years in Waco.
He tallied 10,366 passing yards and 78 touchdowns along with 2,254 rushing yards and 33 scores while starting in 40 of his 41 appearances for Baylor.
The news comes at a pivotal moment in the Bears’ season, one day before their first ranked matchup at No. 10 BYU. They are also set to face No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 14 Houston in the following weeks to close out the regular season.
Baylor fans and players have rallied behind interim head coach Joe Klanderman since he was promoted nearly three weeks ago. The Bears have mentioned how Klanderman has helped them “play free” and led them to back-to-back victories heading into the difficult stretch.
While Klanderman has expressed his desire to be a head coach, especially in a long-standing program like Baylor, he does not aim to push an initiative to take the permanent spot.
“Would I be interested in being the head coach of a program in the Big 12 that’s played football for 127 years in the best football-playing state in the union with a tremendous fan base and tremendous facilities and opportunities? Certainly,” Klanderman said in his introductory press conference as interim. “Am I going to go out there and campaign and use this platform as a way to get that? Absolutely not.”
Klanderman’s name has started to be thrown around in future head coaching conversations, joining the likes of UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor, Texas State head coach GJ Kinne, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson and USC head coach Lincoln Riley.
Baylor takes on BYU at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.
