ESPN College GameDay analysts identify best candidates for Stanford coaching vacancy

ESPN College GameDay’s Rece Davis and Pete Thamel debated the Stanford coaching gig under new GM Andrew Luck. Frank Reich will take over in 2025 on an interim basis after the school fired Troy Taylor.

Reich is coming in on a one-year basis to steer the program in the right direction before a permanent solution can be found. But Stanford, while being led by one of its favorite sons in Luck, is an interesting gig for prospective coaches.

Luck clearly has a big say in the program and him and Reich are close personally. So what if Reich does a great job? Or a poor job? How does the job look moving forward with the GM being the head honcho?

“One thing I have learned in many years of covering this coaching carouse is that there is a power to the interim that should never be ignored,” Thamel said on the College GameDay Podcast. “There are eight months of human dynamics, relationships, adversities, overcoming winning locker rooms. I’m not saying Frank Reich’s going to be the next coach at Stanford, because I’ve been told very directly that there’s not a chance of that happening. But just don’t underestimate the power of the interim. The interim has a power, and there have been mistakes made from that power.”

Davis made an interesting point if Stanford actually performs well under Reich. At that point, what do you do if you’re Luck and Reich, considering it was supposed to a be one-year partnership?

“Probably what Stanford needs right now is someone who’s willing to come in to work with Andrew Luck, coach the team, has football expertise and doesn’t have designs on winning the job outright,” Davis said. “The one thing I will say that also goes along with the power of the interim coach is if Stanford were to overperform with Frank Reich, and Frank goes, ‘Hey, it’s not so bad. This is a nice place to live.’”

Before a national search going into the 2026 season, Reich will attempt to steer Stanford in the right direction. Taylor was fired earlier this month after accusations of bullying and belittling female staffers.

“It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change,” Luck said in a statement. “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.”