Stanford has officially reached back into its own past to shape its future. On Friday, the university announced the hiring of Tavita Pritchard as the next head coach of Stanford football, a full-circle moment that intertwines the program’s storied history, its modern ambitions, and one of its most iconic alumni, Andrew Luck.
Pritchard, currently the Washington Commanders’ quarterbacks coach, will join the Cardinals after Washington’s matchup with Denver on Sunday night. The Commanders permitted him to depart early, closing the loop on a coaching search that featured over 30 candidates spanning both the college and NFL landscapes.
Who Is Tavita Pritchard?
For Stanford fans, Pritchard is no stranger. A former Stanford quarterback, he rose from backup to starter in the mid-2000s and famously helped engineer the Cardinal’s historic upset of USC in 2007. After his playing career, he immediately transitioned into coaching, serving Stanford from 2010 to 2022 in various roles, including assistant coach, quarterbacks coach, and ultimately offensive coordinator.
Sources: Stanford is hiring Tavita Pritchard as the school’s next head coach. He’s a former quarterback, assistant coach and coordinator at the school, including a run on staff from 2010 to 2022. pic.twitter.com/vpPu1LqHmQ
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 28, 2025
During his four-year stint as OC, the Cardinal offense posted the following PFSN Impact Grades:
- 2019: 75.1
- 2020: 77.7
- 2021: 73.4
- 2022: 76.9
Those years spanned transitional periods for the program, yet Pritchard was consistently regarded as one of the staff’s top teachers and schemers.
In 2023, he joined the NFL as the Commanders’ quarterbacks coach, assuming the pivotal task of developing first-round star Jayden Daniels.
The Daniels Connection: Pritchard’s NFL Breakthrough
If Pritchard’s Stanford tenure showed promise, his NFL stretch proved his bona fides. Daniels delivered one of the best rookie seasons in recent NFL memory in 2024, finishing as the fifth-highest-ranked QB with a staggering level of efficiency:
- 25 passing TDs, 9 INTs
- 6 rushing touchdowns
- 12–5 record and a playoff berth
- Upset postseason wins over the Buccaneers and top-seeded Lions
- A trip to the NFC Championship Game
Daniels earned Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Pritchard’s role in shaping his meteoric rise quickly became one of the most discussed developmental success stories in the league.
His QB Impact Grades with Daniels:
- 2024: 86.9
- 2025: 74.4 (injury-affected season for both Daniels and the supporting cast)
Even with Daniels currently sidelined, many around the league credit Pritchard for helping transform the young passer into one of the NFL’s brightest emerging stars.
Andrew Luck’s First Major Hire and a Full-Circle Moment
The search process was headed by Andrew Luck, now Stanford’s general manager, along with new athletic director John Donahoe, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and university president Jonathan Levin.
Luck, who once beat out Pritchard for Stanford’s starting QB job, has now hired him to lead the program. It is one of the more poetic twists in Stanford football lore.
“Tavita Pritchard is exactly the right head coach at the right time to help us build on the foundation of this season and lead Stanford football to its next great era,” Luck said in a statement.
“Coach Pritchard is a culture builder, a teacher of football of the highest caliber, and a humble yet determined servant leader who is committed to the success of Stanford’s student-athletes. I could not be more excited to welcome Tavita, Caroline, and their family back to campus.”
What This Means for Stanford
The Cardinals have struggled since David Shaw’s departure, but Pritchard brings:
- Deep institutional knowledge
- Proven QB development skills
- A track record of offensive competency
- Recruiting credibility from both the NFL and Stanford traditions
- Close ties to Andrew Luck and university leadership
It is a bold hire, one that blends legacy, innovation, and a modern coaching résumé forged through both college experience and NFL success. The biggest question now: Can the man who helped elevate Jayden Daniels do the same for a Stanford program hungry for national relevance again?
If his past is any indication, Stanford may have just found the culture builder capable of bringing the Cardinal back into the spotlight.
