This will bring a reunion between Reich and Andrew Luck, whom the Cardinal hired as their football GM months ago. Reich coached Luck from 2018 until his August 2019 retirement. It will be a one-year union, though, as Stanford is confirming this is a short-term agreement to install Reich as interim head coach while the program reboots after firing Troy Taylor.
Stanford canned Taylor after an investigation revealed the former HC bullied female staff members, among other findings. A well-respected coach during his time in the NFL, Reich will be brought in as a stopgap while the now-ACC-stationed program searches for a long-term replacement, Thamel adds.
Reich, 63, will step in as a CEO HC, which will differ from his role in Indianapolis. The Cardinal are promoting tight ends coach Nate Byham to their offensive coordinator post, Thamel adds. A former Buccaneers tight ends coach, Byham is expected to call plays. Reich called plays throughout his Colts tenure and during most of his one-season Panthers stay. These are different circumstances, however, as Luck is calling on his former boss to steer the ship in the short term.
Following Luck, Bill Belichick and Ron Rivera (Cal’s new GM), Reich will step into the muddied waters of college football, a sport trudging through a period featuring significant impact from the transfer portal and NIL commitments. Luck is leading the way here, overseeing his alma mater’s budget in this new era of college football, but he will now work with Reich on this front.
Although Luck and Reich’s NFL partnership was brief, thanks to the former’s shocking retirement ahead of the latter’s second season in charge, the two have maintained a good relationship since. Reich coached Luck to a Comeback Player of the Year season in 2018, when the Colts made a surprising voyage to the NFL’s divisional round. The Colts have struggled to identify a Luck successor, a storyline that played the lead role in Reich’s firing during the 2022 season.
When the Panthers fired Reich in December 2023, he said another coaching gig was unlikely. However, he is far from the first coach to return to the game after indicating retirement was on tap.
Reich is coming off a 1-11 record with the 2023 Panthers, who hired him over retaining interim HC Steve Wilks. The Eagles OC during their Super Bowl LII-winning season, Reich guided the Colts to two playoff berths — the second with Philip Rivers at QB — during his time as Indianapolis’ HC. He will take the reins of a Cardinal team that has gone 3-9 in each of the past four seasons. A former NFL backup, Reich has never coached at the college level.
Luck rejoined the program last November, and while Taylor was initially retained after the school’s investigation, a change of heart keyed a change. The 2018 Colts partnership will provide a bridge to that new era for the program, as Luck will play a central role in identifying Reich’s replacement after the 2025 campaign.
