Baylor AD Mack Rhoades 'rubbed the wrong way' by Chris Kapilovic leaving for Alabama

Kalen DeBoer thought offensive line coach Scott Huff would be joining him in Tuscaloosa from the Washington coaching staff. Instead, the NFL came calling a Huff will work with the Seattle Seahawks moving forward. Alabama then needed to make a move and got Chris Kapilovic, who was recently hired by the Baylor Bears.

Kapilovic had a cup of coffee in Waco, just being hired by the program a couple of months earlier. He left for Alabama, a move that did not sit well with Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades. Watching Kapilovic make the move did not sit well with him.

“You always want what’s best for people and their families but that one, quite frankly, rubbed me the wrong way,” Rhoades said via ESPN Central Texas. “Let me say this — he’s a really good person, he’s a heck of a football coach. But after Michigan State, he didn’t have a job. We gave him an opportunity. I thought the contract that he signed was very fair. He was highly compensated and for him to leave after a couple months or less… That one didn’t sit well with me.”

Kapilovic was previously at Michigan State and was a member of Mel Tucker‘s staff. With off-field issues taking over in East Lansing, Jonathan Smith took over the program and Kapilovic was not retained. Baylor reached out and hired him as the OL coach to replace Eric Mateos — who left for Arkansas.

Baylor offensive linemen were already dealing with a transition period but will now have to go through the process again. Rhoades said watching another coach leave affects the players the most, especially with the message coming from head coach Dave Aranda.

“Who it’s really hard on our kids, our student-athletes,” Rhoades said. “When Dave had to tell them that they were yet having another coach — the one that they were just starting to get to know and really buy-in with is now leaving them. They feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them. So, hated it for them.”

The count is now up to three offensive line coaches since the 2023 season ended. Mason Miller is the latest and hopefully the final hire. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Tarleton State and previously worked under Mike Leach at Mississippi State.

Rhoades believes Miller will do a great job at Baylor and potentially be a “blessing” for the program.

“I do think sometimes, things work out and are a blessing,” Rhoades said. “I think Mason Miller is a heck of an offensive line coach. And I think he’s going to be really great with those young men. I think he’s going to earn their trust pretty quickly.”