Stanford fired football coach Troy Taylor on Tuesday following two losing seasons, two investigations into his inappropriate behavior and one embarrassing leak to the news media.
Specifically, Andrew Luck fired Taylor.
“Since beginning my role as General Manager, I have been thoroughly assessing the entire Stanford football program,” Luck said in a statement announcing the decision.
“It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change. Additionally, in recent days, there has been significant attention to Stanford investigations in previous years related to Coach Taylor.
“After continued consideration it is evident to me that our program needs a reset. In consultation with university leadership, I no longer believe that Coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program.”
Luck left open the possibility that the Cardinal will compete in the 2025 season with an acting coach — an unusual but hardly unprecedented move in college football. (Northwestern used an acting coach, David Braun, for the 2023 season and qualified for a bowl game.)
The decision to terminate Taylor comes less than one week after ESPN reported that Taylor has been investigated twice for inappropriate behavior directed at female staff members.
On the field, the Cardinal has struggled since Taylor replaced David Shaw, with 3-9 records in each of his two years and no easy path to relevance in its new home, the ACC.
The dismissal also comes during a chaotic period for the Cardinal, which has been without an athletic director since Bernard Muir stepped down in late February. The school hasn’t named an interim, much less identified potential replacements.
But Luck was given full authority to run the football program when he accepted the general manager position last fall, with a direct reporting line to president Jonathan Levin.
Stanford seemed prepared to move forward with Taylor in 2025 until ESPN’s report last week detailed investigations into Taylor’s conduct in 2023 — before his first season as coach — and then again in 2024.
Here is the full statement from Luck:
“I took the role of Stanford Football General Manager with a strong vision for building a new winning era for our football program. Stanford has always set the standard for excellence with our university’s unique leadership in both athletics and academics, and I have no doubt that our program’s best days lie ahead.
“Since beginning my role as General Manager, I have been thoroughly assessing the entire Stanford football program. It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change. Additionally, in recent days, there has been significant attention to Stanford investigations in previous years related to Coach Taylor.
“After continued consideration it is evident to me that our program needs a reset. In consultation with university leadership, I no longer believe that Coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program. Coach Taylor has been informed today, and the change is effective immediately. A search for new coaching leadership in football has begun, and an acting coach may be named for the 2025 season. Our focus remains on supporting our student-athletes and ensuring they have the best possible experience on the field, in the classroom, and on campus with their peers.
“I thank Coach Taylor for his contributions to our team and the hard work he put into the program. I wish him and his family well moving forward.
“Stanford University is my home, and I am so excited to support our players in competing at the highest level and developing as young adults. We have powerful traditions, incredible student-athletes, and a vision for the future that demonstrates our strong potential as a program. This vision includes an emphasis on a positive, winning, and inclusive culture. I am confident that we will return Stanford to the top echelon of college football.”
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