Lane Kiffin reportedly adding a former Baylor head coach to LSU staff.

Former Baylor head coach Dave Aranda is reportedly joining Lane Kiffin's staff at LSU.

CBS Sports reported the move on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Aranda is currently in Baton Rouge serving in an analyst-type role, according to the report.

The hire brings Aranda back to the program where he built his reputation as one of college football's top defensive coordinators.

He arrived at LSU in January 2016 as defensive coordinator under then-head coach Ed Orgeron.

Two years later, LSU kept him with a record four-year, $10 million deal for an assistant.

That investment paid off in 2019, when Aranda's defense powered LSU to a 15-0 season and the national championship.

The Tigers allowed just 21.2 points per game that year while facing a gauntlet of elite offenses.

Baylor hired Aranda in January 2020 to replace Matt Rhule, who had left for the Carolina Panthers.

Aranda spent seven seasons in Waco, finishing with a 40-40 record.

His best season came in 2021, when the Bears went 12-2, beat Oklahoma State 21-16 for the Big 12 title, handled Ole Miss 21-7 in the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

The rest of the run was uneven: 2-7 in 2020, 6-7 in 2022, 3-9 in 2023, 8-5 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025.

Baylor kept Aranda last November, with president Linda Livingstone citing "financial stewardship" and "extreme volatility in college athletics."

This fall, athletic director Doug McNamee made the change.

Baylor fired Aranda on October 25, one day after a 25-24 loss to Kansas ended a 14-game Baylor winning streak in the series that dated back to 2007.

The Bears were 4-3 (2-2 Big 12) at the time.

"He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories," McNamee said in a statement at the time.

"While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program."

Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, in his first year at Baylor after coming over from Kansas State, is serving as interim head coach.

For a freshly fired head coach, an analyst job at a program like LSU is about as good a landing spot as there is.

Aranda gets to sit in on meetings, study film, offer suggestions and collect a paycheck without the pressure of running a program.

He joins a defensive staff that is already loaded with familiar faces.

Blake Baker is in his third season as defensive coordinator after Kiffin held off a hard push from Tulane to keep him.

Chris Kiffin is co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Ed Orgeron — Aranda's head coach for most of his LSU run and for that 2019 title — is on staff as a special assistant to recruiting and defense.

That means three key figures from LSU's 2019 championship infrastructure are now in the same building again.

The timing of the report is notable.

LSU is preparing to host No. 9 Alabama on Saturday in Tiger Stadium (2:30 p.m., ABC).

The Tigers enter the game at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, ranked No. 15 in both the AP and coaches polls.

The initial College Football Playoff rankings placed LSU at No. 14.

Alabama is 6-2, 4-2 in the SEC and sits at No. 5 in the CFP rankings.

Kiffin has been careful not to let his players buy into the external hype.

"We just show them the polls," Kiffin said at his Monday news conference to kick off Alabama week.

"There's no rat poison in the polls about us playing well. We just go by that."

Despite the modest rankings, the analytics love LSU.

After losing to Kentucky on Oct. 10, ESPN's Football Power Index gave the Tigers about a 28% chance of reaching the CFP.

Now it's nearly 51%.

FanDuel this week gave the Tigers the third-best odds to win the College Football Playoff, tied with No. 1-ranked Miami.

Only Georgia and Notre Dame have better odds.

Even Nick Saban has pumped the Tigers' tires, calling LSU his sleeper pick to win the national championship on "College GameDay."