How Dave Aranda's 'transformational and transactional' approach could help him off the hot seat

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda made headlines on Wednesday at Big 12 Media Days for his comments regarding name, image, and likeness in college football. Brutally honest about the Bears adapting to the changing climate of paying players and the new transactional nature of recruiting.

There’s no question that the rise of NIL has significantly impacted recruiting in college football, but On3’s Andy Staples believes the transactional culture of the sport is nothing new.

“I don’t like the morality play of college football. I’ve never liked this because it’s always been a business, it’s always been about winning, it’s never been totally about making men out of people or developing better human beings,” Staples said. “That’s not the point, and that’s not what gets you hired or fired necessarily. Now that said, there are lots of coaches out there, Dave Aranda included, who do want to help their players become better people. In fact, I would say that is most coaches.”

Some of football’s top head coaches have retired, moved onto the NFL level, or have stepped down to less prominent staff roles this offseason. And there’s no question that the new demands regarding NIL and the transfer portal have made an impact.

Factors like culture fit, academics, facilities, and the many other elements that play into a recruit choosing to sign with a program are still relevant. But what a program can provide a student-athlete with financially now definitely looms large over recruiting and has led coaches like Aranda to seek out balancing the personal and fiscal aspects of football off the field.

“So Dave Aranda saying I need this to be transformational, not transactional. That’s up to you, that’s your choice,” Staples said. “You can continue to try to make a transformational all you want. But yes, there’s a transaction involved, just like any other business in the world.”

“So for Dave Aranda, you make millions of dollars,” Staples added. “You will get to keep making millions of dollars to coach football if you win enough games. You will be fired if you don’t win enough games. They will not fire you for not molding enough men, but they will fire you for losing too much.”

Aranda admitted at media days to being behind the curve when it came to NIL and recruiting, which resulted in Baylor having their worst season since Aranda’s first year at the helm with a 3-9 finish last year.

But now that he and the program have put more time and effort into that department, recruiting has seen a noticeable uptick in Waco. But the question is will it result for wins for Baylor on the field this upcoming season and if Aranda’s dedication to balancing transaction with transformation will pay off.

“You gotta decide if those two things are compatible, and I would argue they are compatible. I would argue the teams that care about each other, that love each other, that feel like the coaches care about me, my teammates care about me, I care about my teammates, I care about my coaches. Those are the best teams. Your goals are compatible,” Staples explained.

“You’ve just got to understand that and it sounds like it’s taken a minute for some of these coaches to understand that. So perhaps Dave Aranda understands that now and perhaps that’s what helps him survive this season, but we’ll find out.”