Stanford University football team defensive coordinator Kris Richard, center, during practice on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford University football team defensive coordinator Kris Richard, center, during practice on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
STANFORD — First-year Stanford coach Tavita Pritchard has spent most of his football life thinking about offense.
During the Cardinal’s preseason practices, though, the former Stanford quarterback and offensive coordinator says he keeps looking across the field at a defense flying around under new coordinator Kris Richard.
“When we turn on the film, I want to see a defense that’s attacking, that’s relentless energy and effort. And you see that with our defense,” Prichard said. “And so, I’d be lying if I didn’t say my eyes wander there a lot, whether it’s in individual or in team drills.”
Richard, who is also the defensive backs coach, was brought in to improve a defense that ranked last in the ACC in passing yards allowed last season (288.9 yards a game).
He isn’t interested in dwelling on what happened before he arrived.
“The proverbial blank slate is real,” Richard said. “All we can do is hold them responsible and accountable to what we’re asking of them.”
After a five-year NFL career as a defensive back with the Seahawks and the 49ers, Richard spent 13 seasons as a coach in the NFL, including three seasons as the Seahawks defensive coordinator (2015-17).
Stanford University football team defensive coordinator Kris Richard during practice on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford University football team defensive coordinator Kris Richard during practice on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford is his first college coaching job, but Richard said his approach hasn’t changed. The defense will be fast, physical and disciplined, and effort will be at the center of it.
“Effort is a non-negotiable,” Richard said. “It’s an all-encompassing term. It’s more than the energy you give on the field. It’s the energy that you use for preparation, to study.”
The defense’s most proven piece is senior inside linebacker Matt Rose, whose 106 tackles last season ranked second in the ACC and was the most by a Stanford player since Blake Martinez in 2015.
In Rose, Richard sees the kind of decisive player he wants throughout his defense. His philosophy can be summed up in a simple phrase: “You know, you go.”
“He sees it, he understands it, and when he pulls the trigger, he’s extremely effective,” Richard said.
Behind Rose, Pritchard is particularly encouraged by the competition developing in the secondary, with returning starters such as Brandon Nicholson and Aaron Morris, regular contributors Darrius Davis and Cam Richardson, and Washington transfer Leroy Butler working alongside three-star recruits Xavier Harmon and Jason Hill.
“I love where that group is because they’re pushing each other, they’re sharpening each other, and they’re competing every day,” Pritchard said.
Richard will also move Stanford to a four-man front to take better advantage of the team’s personnel.
Richard, a Los Angeles native and USC product, said the opportunity to return home was appealing. But it was the opportunity to work with Pritchard and general manager Andrew Luck that drew him to Stanford.
He also looked forward to the chance to coach Stanford players. He coached former Cardinal corners Richard Sherman and Paulson Adebo in the NFL, and was on the same team as Dalton Schultz.
“Every experience I’ve had with a Stanford player has been extremely positive,” Richard said. “You’re going to get an incredible competitive player that just understands how the game should be played.”
Richard wants the combination of intelligence, competitiveness and relentless effort to become the defense’s calling card. If Pritchard’s wandering eyes during training camp are any indication, the transformation is off to a good start.
“There’s a good amount logistically that I’m involved in on offense,” Prichard said. “So I have to make sure my focus is where it needs to be. But I definitely try when I can to peek over there at the defense.”