Andrew Luck returns to Stanford hoping to turn around the struggling football program he once helped grow into a national power.
Athletic director Bernard Muir announced Saturday that Luck has been hired as general manager of the Stanford football team, charged with overseeing all aspects of the program that just completed a 3-9 season under coach Troy Taylor.
“I am a product of this university, of Nerd Nation; I love this place,” Luck said. “I believe deeply in Stanford’s unique approach to athletics and academics and the opportunity to help return our program to the top. Coach Taylor has taken the team in the right direction and I can’t wait to work with him, the staff and the best, brightest and strongest players in the world.”
Luck has kept a low profile since his surprise retirement from the NFL at age 29, when he announced in August 2019 that he was leaving the Indianapolis Colts and professional football.
In his new role, Luck will work with Taylor on recruiting and roster management, and with the university’s athletics department and leadership on fundraising, alumni relations, sponsorships, student-athlete support and stadium experience.
“Andrew’s credentials as a student-athlete speak for themselves, and in addition to his legacy of excellence, he also brings a deep understanding of the college football landscape and community, and an unparalleled passion for Stanford football,” said Muir. “I couldn’t think of a person better qualified to lead our football program through an ever-evolving landscape, and I am thrilled that Andrew has agreed to join our team. This change represents a very different way to operate our program and compete in an evolving college football landscape.”
Luck was one of the players who helped Stanford grow into a West Coast powerhouse for years. He helped end a seven-year bowl drought in his first season as starting quarterback in 2009 under coach Jim Harbaugh and led the Cardinal to back-to-back BCS bowl berths in his final two seasons, when he played both the Heisman Trophy came in second. seasons.
That was part of a seven-year stretch in which Stanford posted the fourth-best record in the country at 76-18 and qualified for five BCS bowl berths under Harbaugh and David Shaw.
But the Cardinal have struggled for success in recent years, not winning more than four games in a season since 2018. Stanford just completed its fourth consecutive 3-9 campaign in Taylor’s second season since replacing Shaw. The Cardinal are the only power conference team to have lost at least nine games in each of the past four seasons.
Luck graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in architectural design and returned after retiring from the NFL to earn his master’s degree in education in 2023.
He was selected No. 1 overall by Indianapolis in the 2012 draft and made four Pro Bowls and was AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2018 in his short but successful NFL career.