Stanford hires Luck’s former Colts coach Reich as interim

Stanford has a football coach for the 2025 season.

The Cardinal is set to hire former Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers coach Frank Reich as their interim coach for the year. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and confirmed by this news organization’s Wilner Hotline before Stanford announced the hire at 8 a.m. Monday.

Reich coached Stanford general manager Andrew Luck, the former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, in his last playing season in 2018 before a surprise retirement in August 2019. Reich coached the Colts until 2022, then was the Carolina Panthers’ coach in 2023 amid a rebuild.

“I have experienced first-hand the incredible impact Frank has demonstrated as a leader and have full confidence he is the perfect steward for this season of Stanford Football,” Luck said in a statement from the school. “Frank is a teacher, a winner and a coach of the highest caliber. Frank’s values align seamlessly with our vision for this program and I firmly believe in his ability to maximize the on-field potential of our student-athletes while serving as a role model in all aspects of their personal growth.”

Reich has never coached at the college level and will stay for one season in charge of the Cardinal, which will then conduct a national search for a long-term coach.

Luck and the university fired coach Troy Taylor last week after ESPN reported that he was twice investigated for his demeaning treatment of staffers — particularly women. The first investigation ended with a February 2024 signed statement that Taylor knew he could be fired if his conduct continued, but he remained in the job even though both probes found his behavior was not up to Stanford’s standards.

Reich takes over a program that has not won more than four games in any of the last six seasons and is struggling to adjust to the next era of college sports with name, image and likeness payments and the transfer portal.

“Andrew is an elite leader and competitor, and those traits, along with his genuine passion for this university, resonated in every way and inspired me to accept this role,” Reich said in the release. “The unique responsibility to mentor the best student-athletes in the world, to be the absolute best in what they aspire to do, is an opportunity I will fully embrace.”

Before revelations became public on March 19 about Stanford’s investigation into Taylor, Luck met with reporters and recalled how Reich, a “deep thinker” who is an ordained minister, gave him advice back in their time together in Indianapolis that was applicable to Luck’s new role.

“He says, ‘There’s no guidebook or handbook to being a head coach. Stuff just piles up and comes across the desk and you have to deal with it,'” Luck said. “Learning how to prioritize that has been a big part of the job, and learning to rely on others, which is by my nature.”

Stanford is still without an athletic director — or an interim — after Bernard Muir stepped down late last month. Luck, who was hired in November, has been reporting directly to president Jonathan Levin, who took over that job last August. Those two men and the new athletic director will ultimately determine the long-term direction of the football program with the hire of the long-term coach. This move buys them time for that decision.

Staff reporters Jon Wilner and Cam Inman contributed to this story.

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