After taking over as the General Manager of the Stanford Cardinals football team, Andrew Luck wasted little time calling for a program reset. This started with Luck firing now-former head coach Troy Taylor after Taylor’s poor performance both on and off the football field.
It’s very uncommon for a coach to be fired in March, and it’s also very uncommon to see a coach fired by the General Manager and not the athletic director. While the whole situation is unfortunate for Stanford fans, this was a move that had to be made, especially after Taylor admitted to multiple 2024 complaints but failed to change.
Troy Taylor Admitted to Past Mistakes
When Taylor first started at Stanford a couple of years ago, he spoke about creating a “culture of love” and always being “sincere and authentic.” Two years later, Taylor’s words mean absolutely nothing now as a pair of law firms hired by Stanford to investigate him found something much more sinister.
Andrew Luck has fired Stanford head coach Troy Taylor after reports of bullying investigations and back-to-back 3-9 seasons.
Luck became his alma mater’s football GM in November.
“I no longer believe that Coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program.” pic.twitter.com/AKDQuHOdnR
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 25, 2025
As detailed by a report ESPN put out last Wednesday, two investigations found that Taylor bullied and belittled female athletic staffers, made inappropriate comments to a different woman about her appearance, and even went as far as to try and have an NCAA compliance officer removed after she warned him about rules and violations.
The first investigation found that Taylor had to sign a written warning letter in February of 2024. He acknowledged that he could potentially be fired if his conduct continued, as detailed in the warning letter. Taylor himself released a quote about how he was going to use all of this to better himself.
“I willingly complied with the investigations, accepted the recommendations that came out of them, and used them as a learning opportunity to grow in leadership and how I interact with others,” Taylor said in the statement.
“I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and collegially with my colleagues so that we can achieve success for our football program together,” Taylor continued.
The first investigation found that Taylor had instilled a culture of “fear and hostility.” A follow-up investigation, which began in June, found that little to nothing had changed. It was still apparent that the coach didn’t treat women properly.
Taylor had the ability to change his ways but failed to do so. Now, he’s reaping what he sows as Luck fired him recently in March. Because Taylor failed to change, he now finds himself on the unemployment line and no longer being a part of the Stanford football team.
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