Andrew Luck hired as general manager of Stanford football program

On By Littum

Former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck will be inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on September 30, 2023. (David Madison/Getty Images)

Former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck will be inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame on September 30, 2023. (David Madison/Getty Images)

Andrew Luck is returning to his alma mater to become the general manager of the Stanford football program, he told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

“I’m excited,” Luck told ESPN. “I think Stanford is taking an assertive and innovative step. We’re arguably the best athletic department in college sports. We need to prove that again in football, and we’re excited to be a part of that challenge.”

The 35-year-old Luck, who quarterbacked the Cardinals from 2008-2011 and was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, returns “home” for this newly created role that will place him at the top of the program’s hierarchy. The GM job will see Luck involved in all things Stanford football, including handling the coaching staff, player personnel, recruiting and guard management.

There’s a business side to Luck’s new gig. He will deal with important aspects of the NCAA experience, such as fundraising, sponsorships and alumni relations.

According to Luck, this idea was conceived last month in a conversation with school president Jonathan Levin, when Levin suggested that the No. 1 in the 2012 NFL Draft should run the football program.

“Andrew Luck is an example of the Stanford student-athlete,” Levin said in a statement. “I am pleased to have him return to campus to help lead our football program and ensure our student-athletes achieve excellence in the changing collegiate athletics environment.”

Luck has been closely involved with Stanford since leaving for the NFL. A decade after graduating in architectural design, he went back to school and earned his master’s degree in education. During the Paris Olympics last summer, Luck and his wife, Nicole Pechanec, a gymnast at Stanford, helped get the school’s mascot, The Tree, to the Games to support 59 athletes affiliated with the school.

“I’m a product of this place,” Luck said. “Besides my families and friends and extended family I grew up with, Stanford is home to my wife and I. I’m deeply influenced by Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw, Pep Hamilton and all the coaches and professors I’ve ever had had.”

Luck said he understands he’s going into this job without a lot of experience, but he’s taking it on with “open eyes and aware of my strengths and my limitations.”

The program has plenty of work to do to turn their recent history around. Stanford hasn’t made a bowl game and hasn’t won more than four games in a season since 2018. This year, Troy Taylor’s team is 3-9 in their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I’m very grateful for what football has given me,” Luck said. “In many, many ways on many, many levels. Stanford is one of the deeper levels. There’s something about it, especially the people there. This is going to be a daunting challenge. It’s a steep climb. But I’m fired up .

“It’s going to take a whole team of people.”