Stanford University has named former National Football League quarterback and head coach Frank Reich of Freeport, New York as their new head coach according to Dylan Grausz of Sports Illustrated on Tuesday. What is puzzling of the hiring is that Reich was hired as the interim head coach during the College Football offseason even though he signed a full one year contract. This is one of the longest hirings for an interim head coach I have ever seen.
Who hired Reich?
Reich was hired by Stanford general manager Andrew Luck, who was hired on November 30. Reich took over from Troy Taylor, who Luck fired on March 25. Reich coached Luck in Indianapolis during the 2018 NFL season. Luck was a NFL quarterback for seven seasons with the Colts from 2012 to 2018 after playing four seasons with Stanford from 2008 to 2011.
Reich’s coaching history
Reich was the head coach of the Colts for five years from 2018 to 2022. He then spent one season in the NFL in 2023 coaching the Carolina Panthers. In that time, Reich had a record of 41 wins, 43 losses and one tie.
Frank Reich’s NFL playing career
Reich played 13 NFL seasons. He was with the Buffalo Bills for nine seasons (1985, 1986, and seven straight seasons from 1988 to 1994). Reich also spent one season with the Carolina Panthers (1995), one season with the New York Jets (1996), and two seasons with the Detroit Lions (1997 and 1998). In 118 games, he completed 508 passes in 932 attempts for 6075 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and 36 interceptions, and 91 rushes for 78 rushing yards.
Historic Comeback
Reich was the orchestrator of the greatest comeback in NFL postseason history. The Bills were trailing the Houston Oilers 35-3 early in the second half before Reich delivered a comeback of the ages. He threw four second half touchdowns and led the Bills to a 41-38 comeback win over the Oilers in the AFC Wildcard Game on January 3, 1993.
