The Stanford football program is in a unique position for the 2025 season. They made the unprecedented move of firing their head coach, Troy Taylor, in March, and then hired a temporary coach for the season due to the move happening so late in the offseason. Andrew Luck returned to his old NFL coach, Frank Reich, to help steady the ship for the Cardinal this year.
Troy Taylor was fired as the Stanford football coach due to allegations of bullying. A third-party investigation found that he was bullying staff members, particularly female staff members. Andrew Luck made the ultimate call, and he told “The Athletic” he only made one phone call after that, and it was to Frank Reich to come in and be the interim coach. Reich's initial reaction was confusion, and he was shocked by the entire situation before he ultimately warmed up to the idea.
“I need you to come out here and coach,” Luck told him.
“What do you mean, coach?” Reich said. He didn’t know Stanford had a vacancy.
“Be the head coach,” Luck replied. “Well, interim head coach.”
Reich halted his cart. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“Are you sure?”
“Are you really sure?” Reich tried to emphasize to Luck.
The relationship between Frank Reich and Andrew Luck goes back to the year Luck decided to retire. He shuffled through four different starters in Indianapolis before it ultimately cost him his job with the Colts. However, the relationship between the two remained strong after that.
Luck said, “Frank and I have such a strong relationship because we’ve been incredibly honest about everything from the beginning.”
There has been some speculation that if Reich surprises and enjoys his time in Palo Alto, he might end up staying longer than one season, but from the beginning, Luck and Reich have said that this is only for one season.
“Interim head coach” means one season, period. “I love Andrew,” Reich says, “but I love my grandkids more.”
The 2025 Stanford football team is on the ground floor of a big rebuild. It also does not get any easier for the Cardinal, who are in their second season of joining the ACC. The travel aspect makes everything that much harder for Stanford. The entire situation is unique and unheard of in college football, but Andrew Luck and Frank Reich might seem like geniuses if Stanford succeeds.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Jake Faigus graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 and has had stops at Catena Media, Playmaker, DraftKings, USA Today, Spike Up, and Spotlight Sports Group. He also writes for Sporting News and works at iHeartMedia in Phoenix.