Stanford football coach Troy Taylor was fired on Tuesday, on the heels of an ESPN report that the second-year coach was investigated for "hostile and aggressive behavior" towards colleagues—particularly women that work with the Cardinal program. Program general manager Andrew Luck confirmed the move, stating that the program "needs a reset."
Finding the right person for that reset will primarily fall on Luck's shoulders. With longtime athletic director Bernard Muir set to resign at the end of the academic year, the former Cardinal quarterback will set the path forward for the program.
A late-March hire, just a week before Stanford was set to begin its spring football season, is not easy for any program. That is certainly the case for an academically-rigorous program coming off of consecutive 3–9 seasons, and now playing in an East Coast based league.
Still, Stanford is a power conference job with a recent history of success under coaches Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw. Here are six coaches who could fit the bill for Luck and the Cardinal:
Pep Hamilton — Maryland offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Hamilton, 50, landed his first offensive coordinator job at Stanford under Shaw in 2011, a year after joining the staff as Harbaugh's wide receivers coach. He worked directly with Luck at both the college and pro levels, serving as the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2013 to '15. Hamilton went on to become the assistant head coach under Harbaugh at Michigan, and has held jobs with the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and in February was hired as the offensive coordinator at Maryland.
Hamilton has some brief head coaching experience, posting a 3–2 record with the XFL's DC Defenders in 2020. He has also interviewed for the head coaching job with both the Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots in recent years.
Some of the shine has come off of Hamilton as a potential head coach in recent years, but a late-cycle hire at a program with which he is very familiar could be a prime opportunity for him the opportunity to lead his own program.
Greg Roman — Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator
Another veteran of the Harbaugh era at Stanford, Roman was a finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2010. He followed Harbaugh to the San Francisco 49ers at the end of that season, and more recently served as offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens under John Harbaugh. Lamar Jackson took over the reins as Ravens quarterback under Roman, winning the first of his two MVP awards in '19.
While Luck is the most famous recent Stanford star, under Harbaugh and Shaw, the program was known for a ground-and-pound offense that served as a potent counter to the high-flying offenses of Pac-12 rivals like Oregon. Running backs like Toby Gerhart and Bryce Love ran wild for the Cardinal, and Roman bringing Stanford back to those roots could be an attractive option for Luck & Co.
Troy Walters — Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers coach
Walters is a Stanford football legend, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver in 1999. The consensus All-American went on to have an eight-year NFL career.
Walters coached receivers at Texas A&M, NC State and Colorado before stints as offensive coordinator at UCF (2016–17) and Nebraska (2018–19). He's worked with Bengals receivers since 2020, leading perhaps the most deadly unit in football with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
He's earned the respect of those NFL superstars, which could certainly translate on the recruiting trail.
Tavita Pritchard — Washington Commanders quarterbacks coach
Pritchard was supplanted by Luck as Stanford's QB1 in '09. He set out on a coaching career, staying at Stanford as a graduate assistant the following year, and worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming offensive coordinator in 2018. Pritchard left for the NFL in '23, taking the job as Commanders quarterbacks coach in '23. He was retained by new head coach Dan Quinn the following offseason, and helped Jayden Daniels put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in NFL history in '24.
At 38, Pritchard is a coach on the rise, who will likely be in line for NFL offensive coordinator jobs assuming Daniels continues on his potential MVP trajectory. But his Stanford roots run deep, and one has to assume he'd answer the call from his alma mater.
Dave Clawson — former Wake Forest head coach
Clawson stepped down as Wake Forest coach in December 2024, remaining in an off-field role with the school after 11 seasons. He went 67–69 during his tenure with the Demon Deacons, engineering an impressive rebuild of the program to reach seven consecutive bowl games from 2016 to '22, including an ACC Atlantic division title in '21. The team went 11–3 that year, beating Rutgers in the Gator Bowl.
In the years since Stanford's peak under Harbaugh and Shaw, countless programs with high academic standards have sought hires that could help them be "Stanford East." With the Cardinal's recent struggles, it could make sense to try to draw Clawson back into coaching to establish "Wake Forest West."
While it is not clear whether he is interested in a return to coaching, Wake Forest clearly called his step down a resignation, and not a retirement.
Chuck Pagano — Baltimore Ravens senior secondary coach
There may be no coach more closely connected to Luck than Pagano, the Indianapolis Colts head coach from 2012 to '17. The franchise made three consecutive playoff trips to begin his coaching tenure. His firing came after a season in which Luck missed the year with an injury.
In the years since leaving Indianapolis, Pagano served as Chicago Bears defensive coordinator and recently joined the Ravens' defensive staff. He has college coaching experience from earlier in his career, including stops at UNLV, Miami and North Carolina.
This would likely be a bridge hire as Luck continues to mold the program, and if he goes with someone he trusts first and foremost, Pagano could find himself on that list.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Six Options for Stanford Football's Next Head Coach After Firing Troy Taylor.
