03-25-2025, 06:31 PM
Our prior hires over the last 30 years were not in the elite coach tier with the exception of Walsh 2.0.
Elite coaches could expect at least $9 million per year to return to college football unless they are well beyond their prime. Just doesn't seem like the coaches would want to come to Stanford and, more importantly, Stanford would not want to pay the going rate for big name coaches.
So back to the more realistic options....
Given the way the portal works here in 2025 one place of value would be to snag coordinator that is a net loser in the now open transfer portal. Imagine a mid level FBS team that has a strong QB on their roster, but the QB jumps into the portal to join a program with HC potential. In situations like that the offensive coordinator might be an option since one of the reasons to stay would have just left the program this week.
The other path I really hope Luck considers will be African American NFL coordinators or position coaches. There are dozens of African American coaches in the NFL that are more or less stuck in their current roles. They get invited to interviews for HC roles every year but the owners seem to always find some other option. Many of these coaches should have received NFL head coaching roles by now, but they just don't get that chance.
Given Stanford's strong legacy with African American coaches I would hope Stanford could find someone willing to give Stanford a try. That route would probably give us someone in the Dennis Green situation where the new hire will be looking for NFL roles before their first season is over, but at least the hire might impress recruits. And unlike in Dennis Green's era the players could always use the portal to leave if the coach lands an NFL role in 2026 or 2027, so getting a chance to work with a coach fresh from the NFL could be compelling with little downside. If the coach is good enough to finally get that head coaching spot in the NFL in 2026 or 2027, then presumably the players were part of a turnaround story that should enable them to secure big NIL deals in the SEC or BigTen.
Elite coaches could expect at least $9 million per year to return to college football unless they are well beyond their prime. Just doesn't seem like the coaches would want to come to Stanford and, more importantly, Stanford would not want to pay the going rate for big name coaches.
So back to the more realistic options....
Given the way the portal works here in 2025 one place of value would be to snag coordinator that is a net loser in the now open transfer portal. Imagine a mid level FBS team that has a strong QB on their roster, but the QB jumps into the portal to join a program with HC potential. In situations like that the offensive coordinator might be an option since one of the reasons to stay would have just left the program this week.
The other path I really hope Luck considers will be African American NFL coordinators or position coaches. There are dozens of African American coaches in the NFL that are more or less stuck in their current roles. They get invited to interviews for HC roles every year but the owners seem to always find some other option. Many of these coaches should have received NFL head coaching roles by now, but they just don't get that chance.
Given Stanford's strong legacy with African American coaches I would hope Stanford could find someone willing to give Stanford a try. That route would probably give us someone in the Dennis Green situation where the new hire will be looking for NFL roles before their first season is over, but at least the hire might impress recruits. And unlike in Dennis Green's era the players could always use the portal to leave if the coach lands an NFL role in 2026 or 2027, so getting a chance to work with a coach fresh from the NFL could be compelling with little downside. If the coach is good enough to finally get that head coaching spot in the NFL in 2026 or 2027, then presumably the players were part of a turnaround story that should enable them to secure big NIL deals in the SEC or BigTen.