[Goose]

* They could not have been more definitive that this is only for 2025. That's disappointing to me because the idea of Frank Reich trying to build something at Stanford is something I could really get behind. But there was no wiggle room. I hear what people are saying about how things can change and I know intellectually that's true, but to me this dispelled my notion that this could have been a savvy political move by Luck to circumvent Stanford bureaucracy and get his preferred guy in the door before finding a way to remove the interim tag. Unless they are both lying through their teeth, which seems implausible, this truly was a situation where Luck had a specific interim vision and had that as a condition and Reich bought in to that specifically. If so, it's an unusual and potentially quite awkward situation but I like what Reich said about leaning into it with players and coaches and trying to make 2025 a special year. Still, this is going to make the next Stanford coach a hot topic of discussion for the next eight months and there's no getting around that interim equals lame duck.

IMO it is undoubtedly true that Luck and Reich both agreed the job offer was for one year and one year only. Luck couldn't have offered more even if he wanted to. Hiring a new coach is not solely at his discretion. There could be no guarantee. I have no idea what Luck's and Reich's intended final state (jointly or separately) may be. It seems probable Luck needed an interim coach for sure, as there was no rational way to begin spring ball without one. Many of the players would have at least one foot out the door in that scenario. Throwing something together using existing personnel clearly wouldn't work. Reich is actually an excellent "rabbit out of the hat". However it seems pretty clear that nobody was beating down Reich's door with an NFL head coaching offer. This job arguably fits his situation pretty well. No real downside because nobody expects him to actually "win" anything. It won't reflect badly upon him if he doesn't "win" but could be a plus if he exceeds expectations. Nothing precludes him from being the search committee's choice come December. This can be played by ear, although I do agree it could get very awkward if Reich decides he wants the job and the committee picks somebody else.

As far as retaining the assistant coaches, IMO both Luck and Reich really had no choice. Reich probably hadn't been spending his time cultivating college assistant coaches just in case he got a college job offer in March. Virtually all of the people he might have wanted already are already employed.  What could he offer them, a one-year deal? Virtually nobody that isn't unemployed is going to take a job on those terms. On top of that, that staff is needed TODAY, if not sooner. Replacing that many people on no notice with any kind of a functioning staff is impossible. The current staff may not be optimal but at least most of them have some history of working together and know each others name. Another (perhaps minor, perhaps not) consideration is that some of the staff undoubtedly has multi-year contracts. If you let them go you will have to pay them.
 
 It would not surprise me if some changes in the staff do occur throughout the spring and summer. Some of the staff might not like the implicit "interim" nature of their jobs (no matter what Luck and Reich may say). They may search out what they consider better opportunities and take them. There also may be some guys that Reich decides are just NFG and would be addition by subtraction. Hopefully not, but who knows? Luck could also be covertly looking for some replacements/augments that are not available today but may be by summer/fall.

[Goose]

* They could not have been more definitive that this is only for 2025. That's disappointing to me because the idea of Frank Reich trying to build something at Stanford is something I could really get behind. But there was no wiggle room. I hear what people are saying about how things can change and I know intellectually that's true, but to me this dispelled my notion that this could have been a savvy political move by Luck to circumvent Stanford bureaucracy and get his preferred guy in the door before finding a way to remove the interim tag. Unless they are both lying through their teeth, which seems implausible, this truly was a situation where Luck had a specific interim vision and had that as a condition and Reich bought in to that specifically. If so, it's an unusual and potentially quite awkward situation but I like what Reich said about leaning into it with players and coaches and trying to make 2025 a special year. Still, this is going to make the next Stanford coach a hot topic of discussion for the next eight months and there's no getting around that interim equals lame duck.

IMO it is undoubtedly true that Luck and Reich both agreed the job offer was for one year and one year only. Luck couldn't have offered more even if he wanted to. Hiring a new coach is not solely at his discretion. There could be no guarantee. I have no idea what Luck's and Reich's intended final state (jointly or separately) may be. It seems probable Luck needed an interim coach for sure, as there was no rational way to begin spring ball without one. Many of the players would have at least one foot out the door in that scenario. Throwing something together using existing personnel clearly wouldn't work. Reich is actually an excellent "rabbit out of the hat". However it seems pretty clear that nobody was beating down Reich's door with an NFL head coaching offer. This job arguably fits his situation pretty well. No real downside because nobody expects him to actually "win" anything. It won't reflect badly upon him if he doesn't "win" but could be a plus if he exceeds expectations. Nothing precludes him from being the search committee's choice come December. This can be played by ear, although I do agree it could get very awkward if Reich decides he wants the job and the committee picks somebody else.

As far as retaining the assistant coaches, IMO both Luck and Reich really had no choice. Reich probably hadn't been spending his time cultivating college assistant coaches just in case he got a college job offer in March. Virtually all of the people he might have wanted already are already employed.  What could he offer them, a one-year deal? Virtually nobody that isn't unemployed is going to take a job on those terms. On top of that, that staff is needed TODAY, if not sooner. Replacing that many people on no notice with any kind of a functioning staff is impossible. The current staff may not be optimal but at least most of them have some history of working together and know each others name. Another (perhaps minor, perhaps not) consideration is that some of the staff undoubtedly has multi-year contracts. If you let them go you will have to pay them.
 
 It would not surprise me if some changes in the staff do occur throughout the spring and summer. Some of the staff might not like the implicit "interim" nature of their jobs (no matter what Luck and Reich may say). They may search out what they consider better opportunities and take them. There also may be some guys that Reich decides are just NFG and would be addition by subtraction. Hopefully not, but who knows? Luck could also be covertly looking for some replacements/augments that are not available today but may be by summer/fall.