With the departure of David Shaw, the Stanford Cardinal enter a new era in the 2023 college football season. Troy Taylor’s arrival as head coach promises to shake things up on the field, while his impact has been felt off it too. As a result, the Stanford coaching staff has been overalled ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Stanford Cardinal Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Troy Taylor
Taylor, the 35th head coach in Stanford program history, was appointed to lead the Cardinal in Dec. 2022. He returns to the Pac-12 having been a standout quarterback at California from 1986-1989, leading the then-Pac-10 in total offense in his final season. The new Stanford head coach was the Golden Bears’ all-time passing leader at the time of his departure.
Taylor arrives in Palo Alto after establishing himself as one of the top offensive minds in the FCS at Sacramento State. The Hornets finished the 2022 season ranked in the FCS top 10 for a number of offensive metrics under Taylor’s stewardship.
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Meanwhile, he delivered the first Big Sky Championship for Sacramento State — plus two more — and in 2022, he guided them to the FCS quarterfinals. The Hornets had never won a playoff game in program history prior to last season. Taylor won three conference Coach of the Year accolades at Sacramento State while winning the FCS National Coach of the Year in 2019.
After beginning his coaching career at Case Roble High School in 1994, Taylor has held coaching roles at Colorado, Cal, Eastern Washington, and Utah — where he was offensive coordinator and quarterback coach from 2017-2018. Taylor will reprise that role in addition to his head coaching duties for the Cardinal in the 2023 college football season.
Defensive Coordinator, Bobby April III
While Taylor leads the offense, the Cardinal defense is in experienced and successful hands following the addition of Bobby April to the Stanford coaching staff for the 2023 college football season. The son of a two-time NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year, April will serve as the director of defense and outside linebackers coach for the Cardinal.
April comes to Stanford after spending five seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers. While serving as the outside linebacker coach and defensive run game coordinator in Madison from 2020-2022, the Badgers had one of the most ferocious defenses in college football. The 2021 unit set a school record for the fewest rushing yards allowed while also leading the nation.
After beginning his coaching career at his alma mater Louisiana in 2004, April spent seven seasons at the college level before embarking on a six-year stint in the NFL. His full coaching résumé can be found below.
- Louisiana (student assistant, 2004)
- Tulane (graduate assistant, 2005-2006)
- Portland State (special teams and ILBs coach, 2007-2009)
- Nicholls State (special teams and safeties coach, 2010)
- Philadelphia Eagles (quality control, 2011-2012)
- New York Jets (assistant LBs coach, 2013; LB coach, 2014)
- Buffalo Bills (LBs coach, 2015-2016)
- Wisconsin (OLBs coach, 2018-2019; OLBs coach and defensive run game coordinator, 2020-2022)
- Stanford (director of defense and OLBs coach, 2023)
Special Teams Coordinator, Bob Gregory
A coach with the Pac-12 in his soul, Bob Gregory joined the Stanford coaching staff for the 2023 college football season after multiple stops around the conference dating back to 1989. The special teams coordinator and safeties coach played LB and DB for Washington State and has coached at Washington, Cal, and Oregon. He lands in Palo Alto after spending 2022 in Eugene.
Running Backs Coach, Malcolm Agnew
A college running back who tallied over 2,300 in his playing career, Malcom Agnew joins the Stanford coaching staff as RBs coach, having filled the role for Sacramento State since 2020. He guided new Arizona State back Cameron Skattebo to Big Sky Offensive MVP honors with the Hornets in 2022. Meanwhile, Agnew has stints at Nebraska and North Dakota on his résumé.
Tight Ends Coach, Nate Byham
A four-year NFL tight end who was a captain at Pittsburgh as a college player, Nate Byham joins the Stanford coaching staff as TE coach for the 2023 college football season.
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He has spent the last nine seasons at Albany, where he was the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2022. Prior to that role, he served as the TEs coach and run game coordinator since 2015.
Inside Linebackers Coach, Mark D’Onofrio
Another arrival from Wisconsin, Mark D’Onofrio joins the Stanford coaching staff as the inside linebackers coach, having filled that role with the Badgers in 2022. D’Onofrio has a long history at the position, while also serving as the defensive coordinator in stints at Houston, Miami (FL), and Temple. He was also the recruiting coordinator at Rutgers from 2002-2003.
Offensive Line Coach, Al Netter and Viane Talamaivao
Al Netter and Viane Talamaivao join the Stanford coaching staff for the 2023 college football season, where they’ll serve as co-offensive line coaches.
Netter was a four-year starter at Northwestern who has worked with offensive lines at Yale and Michigan. Meanwhile, Talamaivao started 37 games for USC, returning to the Trojans from 2019-2021 and spending 2022 working as an offensive graduate assistant with Oregon.
Defensive Line Coach, Ross Kolodziej
A long-time strength and conditioning coach for Pittsburgh and Wisconsin, Ross Kolodziej joins the Stanford coaching staff as defensive line coach for the Cardinal.
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Kolodziej spent the last two seasons coaching the defensive front for the Badgers, resulting in multiple all-Big Ten accolades for his players and a defensive unit that ranked amongst the best in college football.
Wide Receivers Coach, Tyler Osborne
One of the top up-and-coming coaches in college football, Tyler Osborne follows head coach Taylor to the Stanford coaching staff after serving as Sacramento State’s WRs coach for the past four years. Osborne also has Pac-12 experience, having opened his coaching career as a student assistant. He also spent two seasons (2017-2018) as an offensive assistant at Washington.
Cornerbacks Coach, Paul Williams
As a player at Delaware, Paul Williams tallied 189 tackles, 27 pass breakups, and 10 interceptions. He took that knowledge and production to multiple programs as a DBs and CBs coach, ultimately landing on the Stanford coaching staff for 2023. Williams has FBS stints at Wake Forest, Texas, Houston, Illinois, Miami, Temple, and Western Michigan on his résumé.
