Stanford football has struggled for the past several years, with 3-9 finishes in each of the past four seasons.
Now, the Cardinal are turning to a familiar face to try to it back to the national relevance they enjoyed for much of the 2010s.
Former Stanford star quarterback Andrew Luck is returning to his alma mater to become the general manager of the school’s football program, he told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
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There, Luck will take over a newly created role that, according to ESPN, “will place him above the entire program” and differs from many of the general manager positions that have sprouted up across college football over the past handful of years.
His responsibilities will include managing the coaching staff, the player personnel staff, recruiting, roster management and the athlete experience. He’ll have business-related duties, as well, like fundraising, sponsorship, sales, the in-stadium experience and alumni relations.
“I’m excited,” Luck said to ESPN. “I think Stanford is taking an assertive and innovative step. We’re undoubtedly the best athletic department in college sports. We have to re-prove it in football, and we’re excited to be part of that challenge.”
The 35-year-old Luck has been away from football and largely out of the public eye since 2019, when he abruptly retired two weeks before the start of the NFL season.
Luck was an all-American at Stanford in 2011 and was a two-time Heisman trophy runner-up. In his final two seasons with the program, he led the Cardinal to a 23-3 record and a pair of major bowl appearances, including a victory in the Orange Bowl at the end of the 2010 season.
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Hailed as one of the best quarterback prospects in decades, he was the No. 1 overall pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2012 NFL Draft. He excelled at the professional level, making four Pro Bowls and leading the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2014, the same season in which he led the Colts to the AFC championship game.
He endured a slew of injuries over his professional career, however, which factored into his decision to retire in his prime.
Luck later returned to Stanford to earn his master’s degree in education in 2022.
He told ESPN that the possibility of returning to Stanford was raised in a conversation with university president Jonathan Levin. As part of his job, he’ll try to help the academically prestigious institution acclimate to the modern college football landscape in which players can earn money off their name, image and likeness, something with which he said Stanford has been “slow to the draw,” according to ESPN.
“I think I’m entering this with eyes wide open and aware of my strengths and my limitations,” Luck said to ESPN. “I know there’s a lot that I do not know. Part of that makes it exciting. I’m excited to work with (Stanford athletic director) Bernard (Muir) and (Stanford football coach) Troy (Taylor). I’ve got a lot to learn from Troy. He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been.”
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