LSU is working to add Dave Aranda to its staff as an analyst, a move that would bring the former LSU defensive coordinator back to Baton Rouge in a different role after his recent exit from Baylor.
The reported move comes less than a month after Aranda was ousted as Baylor's head coach, ending a run that began in 2020. For LSU, it would mean reuniting with a coach who already knows the program well from his previous spell on staff between 2016 and 2019.
Why Aranda's LSU return matters
Aranda's name still carries weight in Baton Rouge because of what he did during his first stint with LSU. As defensive coordinator from 2016 to 2019, he was part of a period that helped shape the program's recent identity, and that background makes any return notable even if it is not in a headline-grabbing lead role.
The current report is clear about the structure of the move: LSU is not pursuing Aranda as a head coach, but as an analyst. That distinction matters, because it suggests the Tigers are looking to add experience and familiarity to the staff rather than make a major change at the top.
A familiar figure in a new position
Aranda's path makes this a straightforward football story rather than a dramatic one. He moved from LSU to Baylor in 2020, took on the head-coaching job there, and was fired seven games into the 2026 season. Now, with LSU working to bring him back, the focus is on how his experience could be used inside the program again.
For LSU, this is another example of how staff building can become just as important as any marquee hiring debate. In the same way that wider coaching speculation can reshape expectations, as seen in pieces such as Why Lane Kiffin’s LSU Coaching Contract Talk Feels Different After Auburn, this move is about fitting the right football mind into the right role.
What comes next will be whether the reported move is completed and how LSU chooses to use Aranda once he is back in the building. For now, the story is simple: a familiar coach may be returning to LSU, only this time as part of the staff rather than the man in charge.
