Days after firing head coach Troy Taylor amid bullying allegations, the Stanford Cardinal moved quickly to hire a new coach. Cardinal general manager and former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck faced the first significant decision of his executive career and turned to an old friend, former NFL coach Frank Reich, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Sources: Stanford is hiring veteran NFL coach Frank Reich as the school’s interim football coach for 2025 season. Both sides have agreed this will be only a one-season agreement. At that point, Stanford will launch a national search. pic.twitter.com/21NuVUCjjt
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 31, 2025
As noted by Thamel, the expectation is for Reich to coach for just one season before Stanford conducts a comprehensive coaching search. Reich and Luck share a notable history; Reich, a former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, was Luck’s head coach during the 2018 NFL season, which turned out to be Luck’s last before he abruptly retired during the 2019 preseason.
Reich enjoyed a five-season tenure as the Colts’ head coach, finishing with a record of 40-33 and guiding the team to the playoffs twice, with his best season coinciding with Luck’s final NFL year. However, Reich’s other head coaching experience was less successful; during his time with the 2023 Carolina Panthers, he managed only a 1-10 record in his first season before being let go. At 63 years old, Reich has never held a coaching or coordinator position in college football.
