Andrew Luck is returning to his alma mater to become the general manager of the Stanford football program, he told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
The 35-year-old Luck, who quarterbacked the Cardinal from 2008-2011 and was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, is going back “home” for this newly created role that will put him atop the program’s hierarchy. The GM job will see Luck involved in everything Stanford football related, including handling the coaching staff, player personnel staff, recruiting, and roster management.
There is a business side to Luck’s new gig. He will deal with important aspects of the NCAA experience such a fundraising, sponsorships, and alumni relations.
According to Luck, this idea was devised last month in a conversation with school president Jonathan Levin when Levin proposed that the 2012 No. 1 pick in the NFL draft run the football program.
Luck has remain closely involved with Stanford since leaving for the NFL. A decade after graduating with a degree in architectural design, he went back to school and got his master’s degree in education. During the Paris Olympics this past summer, Luck and his wife, Nicole Pechanec, who was a gymnast at Stanford, helped get the school’s mascot, The Tree, to the Games to support 59 athletes with ties to the school.
Luck said he understands he’s entering this job without a lot of experience, but he’s taking it on with “eyes wide open and aware of my strengths and my limitations.”
The program has plenty of work to do to turnaround their recent history. The Cardinal have not made a bowl game and have not won more than four games in a season since 2018. This year, Troy Taylor’s team is 3-9 in their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.