[jacket3ree]

Fair point on the talent.  This does have all the appearances of tearing the program completely apart and starting over, (this season is probably a lost cause) with Reich doing his friend a solid, probably without a lot of personal downside. If Stanford wins fewer than 3 games, no one is surprised. I'm sure the reaction to Reich is that he is a stand-up guy who knows offense and someone has to run practice starting tomorrow, for whomever has no other place to go. Not too many people are going to tune in this fall to see what Frank Reich can do (as opposed to say a splash Sanders hire in Boulder). But I like it. Pragmatic and patient over style and splash. I don't know if anything can move Stanford's fanbase needle, so why not go for something more foundational without being rushed. What's one more crappy season (marginally more crappy than if Luck kept Taylor another year), with the promise, not guarantee, of getting it right 6-9 months from now?

I am somewhat surprised they did not go the internal route, but that might say more about who was there internally and what Luck thinks of them.

NFL coaching can be hard to assess. So much is on the GM. Why did Pete Carroll suck with the Jets but win a Super Bowl with the Seahawks? Why did Belichick suck with the Browns but win eight Super Bowls with the Patriots? Sure, they grew over time, but the organizations have a lot to do with it too.  Why did Taylor win so many games so quickly at Sac State and suck at Stanford? Can't just be Skattebo, can it?

Still, I'm curious if Taylor was fired for cause.

[jacket3ree]

Fair point on the talent.  This does have all the appearances of tearing the program completely apart and starting over, (this season is probably a lost cause) with Reich doing his friend a solid, probably without a lot of personal downside. If Stanford wins fewer than 3 games, no one is surprised. I'm sure the reaction to Reich is that he is a stand-up guy who knows offense and someone has to run practice starting tomorrow, for whomever has no other place to go. Not too many people are going to tune in this fall to see what Frank Reich can do (as opposed to say a splash Sanders hire in Boulder). But I like it. Pragmatic and patient over style and splash. I don't know if anything can move Stanford's fanbase needle, so why not go for something more foundational without being rushed. What's one more crappy season (marginally more crappy than if Luck kept Taylor another year), with the promise, not guarantee, of getting it right 6-9 months from now?

I am somewhat surprised they did not go the internal route, but that might say more about who was there internally and what Luck thinks of them.

NFL coaching can be hard to assess. So much is on the GM. Why did Pete Carroll suck with the Jets but win a Super Bowl with the Seahawks? Why did Belichick suck with the Browns but win eight Super Bowls with the Patriots? Sure, they grew over time, but the organizations have a lot to do with it too.  Why did Taylor win so many games so quickly at Sac State and suck at Stanford? Can't just be Skattebo, can it?

Still, I'm curious if Taylor was fired for cause.