Former Stanford star quarterback Andrew Luck is returning to the Cardinal to become general manager of the football program, he told ESPN in a telephone interview.

Luck, 35, has accepted a newly created role at Stanford University that puts him over the entire program and represents a significant evolution from the traditional role of college general manager. The hiring could be a harbinger of structural changes in college football front offices across the sport.

Luck’s role encompasses everything that touches Stanford football, both football and business. Soccer-specific responsibilities include managing the coaching staff, player personnel, recruiting, roster management and the student-athlete experience.

His business responsibilities include some aspects commonly associated with the role of an NFL team president: fundraising, sponsorships, attendance, sales, stadium experience and alumni relations.

“I’m excited,” Luck told ESPN. “I think Stanford is taking a confident and innovative step. We are, hands down, the best athletic department in college sports. We have to prove it again in football and we are happy to be part of this challenge.”

Stanford has suffered five losing seasons in the last six years, and Luck’s goal is to work with second-year coach Troy Taylor to help build the program and get back into the national conversation. Taylor has expressed his excitement about partnering with Luck and the opportunity to build with him.

Luck said the idea came about “organically” in a conversation with President Jonathan Levin a month ago. Luck is the most decorated Stanford player of the past generation; He was a two-time runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and left school after the 2011 season to become the No. 1 NFL draft pick. He remembered Levin suggesting, “Why don’t you play soccer, Andrew?”

Luck recalled with his trademark laugh: “I have to do it somehow. That makes too much sense. I wouldn’t do this anywhere else, not only with myself but with my wife too. It is a special place for me and many people.”

Luck is a proud Stanford graduate who returned in 2022 to earn a master’s degree in education in addition to his bachelor’s degree in architectural design. He credits his time there, particularly during his studies, with leaving an indelible mark on him. While there, he met his wife Nicole Pechanec, a former Stanford gymnast. He said they were thrilled to be officially back at university, with their two young daughters in tow.

“I’m a product of this place,” Luck said. “Besides my parents and the friends and extended family I grew up with, Stanford is home for my wife and me. “Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw, Pep Hamilton and every coach and professor I have ever had has had a profound influence on me.”

During his playing days, Luck helped change the fortunes of Stanford football by helping end a streak of seven straight losing seasons after taking over as starting quarterback in 2009.

He stayed there for his redshirt junior year in 2011, making the rare decision to stay in school even though he likely would have been the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He adopted the school’s Nerd Nation ethos and spent his career deflecting praise with his trademark laugh and shining a spotlight on his teammates.

Luck points out that if there had been a 12-team playoff earlier this century, Stanford likely would have been in the thick of contention for spots, or at least been in it, in six out of seven years from 2010 to 2016. In six of those seven years, Stanford finished in the top 12 in the Associated Press poll.

Luck is confident that with a lot of work, Stanford can return to that level, and that confidence begins with alignment under Levin, who has been president since the start of the current school year, and veteran athletic director Bernard Muir.

“Stanford is at its best when the top brass at the university has a shared opinion about football,” Luck said. “President Levin is committed to doing this. Without this commitment from the President, we would not be doing this. He strives to be innovative and creative to find ways we can compete.”

Luck said there is a consensus that Stanford – like many of the top academic schools – is “too slow” when it comes to the realities of modern college football: name, image and likeness considerations, as well as the portal and use of essentially unlimited transfers . The Cardinals, coming off straight three-to-nine seasons, have struggled in the new era.

Luck said he believes the “unique value proposition” of the Stanford degree is part of the equation. And he admitted he will face a steep learning curve and that he lacks practical front-office experience, given his football experience from Stanford, seven NFL seasons and two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at nearby Palo Alto High School came from – so close to Stanford that he could “hear the band”.

He said he is looking forward to working with Coach Taylor and AD Muir as he still has a lot to learn to overcome his lack of experience.

“I think I go into this with my eyes open and aware of my strengths and limitations,” said Luck when asked about his first-hand experience. “I know there’s a lot I don’t know. Part of that is what makes it exciting. I look forward to working with Bernard and Troy. I can learn a lot from Troy. He was a winner everywhere he went.”

If Luck can help Taylor develop a winner, it could lead to other programs further exploring a similar structure. As college athletics shifts to a revenue-sharing model, the traditional structuring of a program in which head coaches hold all the power and make all the decisions makes less sense. This season, many programs have explored different front office structures for the new era.

Coaches have already significantly moved away from focusing on programs, and this type of model could eventually give them more opportunities to coach.

Luck said his two years as an assistant coach in high school reminded him of his love for football after his sudden retirement from the NFL in August 2019. He called it the “hardest decision of my life” as he had been in a constant battle with injuries.

He’s excited to be back in the college game at a place he loves.

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

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