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Oklahoma Sooners Football: Observations about the Baylor defense

When Baylor University fired Art Briles in 2016 for the head football coach’s role in a sexual assault scandal, the school brass ultimately decided against hiring a familiar face to overhaul the program.

Instead, the Bears went in an entirely different direction by hiring defensive-minded coach Matt Rhule away from Temple. It was a case of changing the culture taken to the extreme, and the move paid off with an appearance in the Big 12 title game in 2019. After Rhule left for the Carolina Panthers at the end of that season, Baylor doubled with another defensive-oriented hire in LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.