After graduating in 1981, Bailiff's first coaching job was in the high school ranks in New Braunfels, Texas. After three years coaching the defensive line at New Braunfels High, he left coaching and entered the private sector for four years. He returned to coaching in 1988 as a graduate assistant at Southwest Texas and was promoted the next year to a full-time position that he held until he was hired to coach the defensive line at the University of New Mexico by Lobos' head coach Dennis Franchione. In 1997, Bailiff returned to Southwest Texas as the defensive coordinator. In 2001, he was hired to serve in the same role at TCU by coach Gary Patterson. Following the 2002 season, in which the Horned Frogs' defense, led by All-American linebacker LaMarcus McDonald, ranked 2nd in the nation, Ba