WACO, Texas -- Baylor's football players insist the team was headed in the right direction despite its poor record, and the school gave up too soon on coach Kevin Steele.

"Coach Steele came in and did exactly what he was supposed to do,'' senior receiver Reggie Newhouse said Tuesday. "He didn't come into a garden of roses. He was put in a tough situation and he did everything that needed to be done.''

Baylor is 9-33 over four seasons and hasn't had a winning record since 1995. The Bears will have their fourth coach in six years.

Steele will coach the final three games of the season against No. 4 Texas, No. 1 Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The school plans to begin looking for a replacement in the coming weeks.

Steele replaced Dave Roberts, who was fired after consecutive 2-9 seasons. Roberts took over for Chuck Reedy, who had a winning record in his four seasons but was fired in 1996 after Baylor was 1-7 in its first Big 12 season.

"We're on the right track. It just might have taken a little longer than anybody was willing to wait,'' junior defensive end Aaron Lard said.

"They gave up on him too soon. They don't know what's going on inside,'' sophomore quarterback Aaron Karas added.

Baylor athletic director Tom Stanton, who has been hospitalized since Monday because of a heart problem, acknowledges Steele's contributions but said the performance on the field was his primary concern.

Steele was fired Sunday, a day after the Bears (3-6, 1-4 Big 12) lost 62-11 at Texas Tech. It was their fourth straight loss, a stretch in which they have been outscored 181-21, since breaking their 29-game Big 12 losing streak with a 35-32 win over Kansas on Oct. 5.

"We've come so far,'' Newhouse said. "It's hard to see that from the outside looking in when there are that many wins.''

Steele said he will finish the season because he didn't want to quit on the players.

"All of those halftime talks, what you do and how you handle adversity when things don't go your way,'' he said. "I look at it as a great opportunity for the next three weeks to practice what you preach.''