Stanford fired football coach Troy Taylor following a report last week that he had been investigated twice for allegedly mistreating staffers.
General manager Andrew Luck announced the decision on Tuesday in his first major move since taking over in his role running the entire football program.
“Since beginning my role as general manager, I have been thoroughly assessing the entire Stanford football program,” Luck said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
ESPN reported last week that Taylor had been investigated twice since taking over before the 2023 season over allegations of hostile and aggressive behavior, as well as personal attacks, against female staff members.
Both investigations determined that Taylor’s treatment of employees, particularly of women, was inconsistent with Stanford’s standards, according to ESPN.
The second investigation concluded that Taylor retaliated against a compliance staffer who had found seven minor NCAA infractions by “seeking her removal from her assigned duties.”
The report said investigators had never encountered “this palpable level of animosity and disdain” for a university compliance office, according to ESPN.
Luck thanked Taylor for his time but said it was important to instill the proper culture at Stanford.
“We have powerful traditions, incredible student-athletes, and a vision for the future that demonstrates our strong potential as a program,” Luck said. “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.”
Luck was hired last November to oversee the football program and he reports directly to school President Jonathan Levin. Athletic director Bernard Muir announced last month that he is leaving at the end of the academic year and Stanford is looking for a replacement.
But Luck will be in charge of the football program and now needs to find a coach who can get the Cardinal back to being competitive nationally.
From Luck’s first season as starting quarterback in 2009 through the 2018 season, the Cardinal were tied for the sixth most wins in FBS, playing in three Rose Bowls and two other BCS bowls in a 10-year span.
But Stanford is 20-46 in six seasons since then, with its .303 winning percentage ranking second worst to Vanderbilt among all power conference teams in that span.
Taylor was hired after David Shaw stepped down in 2022 after his second straight 3-9 season. Taylor, who had helped build Sacramento State into an FCS power, went 3-9 in each of his two seasons with the Cardinal. Stanford went just 1-10 at home against FBS opponents under Taylor.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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