Andrew Luck was hired as general manager of the Stanford football program
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Andrew Luck was hired as general manager of the Stanford football program

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

PALO ALTO, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck walks into Stanford at halftime of a Pac-12 NCAA college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Oregon Ducks on September 30, 2023 in Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)

PALO ALTO, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck walks into Stanford at halftime of a Pac-12 NCAA college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Oregon Ducks on September 30, 2023 in Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)

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

“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.”

The 35-year-old Luck, who was the Cardinals’ quarterback from 2008 to 2011 and was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, returns home for this newly created role that will propel him to the top of the program’s hierarchy. As part of the GM job, Luck is involved in all areas of Stanford football, including overseeing the coaching staff, player personnel, recruiting and roster management.

Luck’s new gig has a business side. He will address key aspects of the NCAA experience such as fundraising, sponsorships and alumni relations.

According to Luck, the idea came about last month in a conversation with school President Jonathan Levin, when Levin suggested that the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft should lead the football program.

Luck has been closely associated with Stanford since moving to the NFL. A decade after graduating with a degree 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, who did gymnastics at Stanford, helped bring the school’s mascot, The Tree, to the games to support 59 athletes with ties to the school.

“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 all the coaches and professors I know have had a profound influence on me.” I’ve never experienced that before.

Luck said he understands he’s coming into the job without much experience, but he’s taking it with “eyes open and aware of my strengths and my limitations.”

The program still has a lot of work to do to change its recent history. The Cardinals have not played in a bowl game and have not won more than four games in a season since 2018. This year, Troy Taylor’s team is 3-9 in its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“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.”

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