Reactions:
- * I'm still processing how I feel about Muir following this hire. I've never felt highly of him and the public-facing aspects of this search reinforce my sense he's not an impressive leader. I also don't think the process for the hire seemed optimal - too much self-selection, too much narrowing of the pool based on perceived interest/attributes/background yet simultaneously involving a committee approach on a massive number of candidates rather than narrowing down based on football-centric criteria, the weird Garrett episode. But I like to judge leaders based on results and Taylor strikes me as a fine hire. This is one of the biggest decisions Muir will ever make in his career and if he got it right that's got to count for something. Feeling a lot less intense about BMMG than I was three weeks ago. Muir has big things to navigate ahead - future conference alignment, institutional support to the major programs in the NIL and transfer portal environment, and firing and replacing Haase. I'm still open to Muir winning me over even though I've never been impressed by him.
- * Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose! I think we knocked this hire out of the park. I'm convinced there were two or three run dingers potentially there for the taking that we didn't take swings on (the process concern above), but I'm very happy with Taylor. He's got a stellar track record as a head football coach, albeit at two much lower levels, and exudes the perspective and attention to culture that we need. Throughout this press conference I found myself relieved and sometimes giddy that we have a coach who combines enthusiasm, competitiveness, love of players and staff, and competence. He hit all the right notes. The important work lies ahead, but the press conference raises confidence we got this right. [Again, nobody can know for certain whether a hire will be good]
- * Classy to thank Shaw and I don't think Taylor overdid it. It actually was more interesting to me that Muir did not thank Shaw and picked Walsh and Harbaugh, rather than Shaw, as the examples of great Stanford coaches without Power Five head coaching experience. By the way, notable that Muir proactively advanced an argument about Stanford's ability to find great coaches for football and other sports at without Power Five head coaching experience by looking for "tools and mindset." He is undoubtedly hyper-aware that reaching all the way down to FCS is the primary question and criticism of this hire. Muir's nod to it didn't rub me the wrong way per se but did sound a bit more defensive and self-justifying than confident. It actually somewhat raised in my mind the likelihood that this hire was done on a budget and without ambition. I wish Stanford were the type of program that could poach big-time Power Five coaches but I guess we aren't. Muir kind of reinforced that by drawing attention to Taylor's lower level experience. I suppose it's a big enough critique Muir couldn't ignore it.
- * The multiple references to "final destination" weren't accidental. That's not something you have to say. Frankly, if he were to succeed at Stanford such that he parlayed it into a better job, I'd be fine with that. It's the Stanford way historically. And I generally don't want people who are done reaching higher. [Importantly, he had numerous comments later indicative of ambition and an ethic of continuous improvement, so I am not raising alarms that "final destination" guarantees he'll grow stale. I just generally would rather have somebody who wants to reach greater heights than somebody who's found their bliss.] Taylor didn't have to say "final destination" or "there's no other place I'd rather be than right here." That was a conscious choice he made. My theory is he did so for at least one of two reasons. First, he knows he's a Cal legend and highly-associated with the Golden Bears, so he's trying to preempt doubts about his staying power at Stanford. Second, Cal is deeply foundational to his career and self-image and coming to the Farm is something he's had to wrestle with, which I hypothesize has led to a story of self in which Stanford is the perfect and ultimate fit for him. In other words, I think his process of seeking and securing the Stanford job involved a personal journey in which he came to a place of emotional acceptance that he's not going to be the Cal head coach. It's easier to get to that place if you convince yourself Stanford is the single best place for you. Listening to this press conference I feel like Taylor genuinely got himself to that place.
- * His ode to why Stanford's special hit the right notes and provides confidence he can sell the value proposition to recruits. That's not a big deal as it's not rocket science, but nonetheless notable. Walt Harris lacked the elevator pitch - or even understanding of and connection to the university - that Taylor has already demonstrated. Taylor can talk the talk and that's worth something. I do hope that he can understand the difference between public relations and football-specific maneuvering when it comes to roster management. The last coach was a Stanford Man obsessive and I'd rather not repeat that. If Taylor talks up how special the players are to help him with certain recruiting pitches, maintain good relations with administrators and faculty, and project a good public image, great. If he starts getting so focused on the marketing campaign that he takes his eyes off bringing in the best football players he can, he could fall into a trap.
- * Some will find "we build this program with love" and "we lead with love" and the repeated, earnest meditations on love being a more powerful force than fear to be corny. Not me. This is what culture looks like. An authentic, intentional leader with a vision for how something strong and durable can be built. I'm not so jaded as to think there's any organization or team that's impervious to the power of love, but I certainly don't think college students are too old for this message. Dabo Swinney, Matt Campbell, and many other successful coaches sound just like Taylor and boil down their programs to "love." This isn't corny or naive. It's real. These players aren't that much older than high school players. Those who try to overly professionalize college football miss some of the magic of college football. Those who try to glean all kinds of lessons from pro football while turning their noses up at high school football may be catering to their own vanity rather than truly optimizing for success at the college level. Personally I felt Shaw was often guilty of this. He made football workmanlike, antiseptic, calculating, and transactional. Much was lost taking joy, aggression, spontaneity, and passion out of the game.
- * Inevitably any hire of somebody replacing a predecessor who failed will involve a pendulum shift away from the traits of the predecessor. To my mind one of the most fundamental corrections Stanford football has made with this hire is to now err on the side of those things Shaw lacked, or even undermined. In a sense one of the most important ways to understand the transition may be to think of it as going from an NFL coach to a high school coach. That's not quite the right frame as Shaw was only cosplaying what he thought an NFL coach was and Taylor has demonstrated sublime dominance as a college football coach, but in terms of philosophy and approach you could do worse than to think of this as capturing some of the insights of high school football we lost sight of in pursuing a "pro-style" program.