Anonymous Pac-12 coaches rip current state of Stanford program

The coaches around the Pac-12 seem to think that Stanford's best days are behind them

In an era of college football where everything is publicized, one thing that rarely happens is coaches discussing other programs.

At least with their name attached the statement. Athlon Sports convinced coaches from around the Pac-12 to discuss their conference foes anonymously, which basically gives coaches the green light to truly reveal their thoughts about programs around the conference. Now obviously there was criticism about each an every program, but the critiques surrounding the Stanford program were all too familiar to their fan base.

Of all the teams, outside of Arizona State who other coaches seemed to be the least high on, Stanford was just one of the few teams to not have a positive statement said about the team going forward. It is evident that the media, fan base, and opposing coaches all recognize the program's flaws but the issue lies in the fact that David Shaw and company don't. Let's take a look at what other coaches think about the state of Stanford.

The program being out of date

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

"This program is really starting to show its age, and they're out of buzz right now. There's been so much coaching talent on that staff the last 15 years, and they've all left for NFL jobs or HC jobs."

2021 team was extremely slow

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

"Last year, they were really, really big, but just as slow. We noticed that right away and adjusted to it."

Not the same caliber players

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

"They're always going to have good offensive and defensive linemen, and they're going to have good tight ends, and now you expect them to be average or below-average at the skill positions. That's the biggest change from the [Andrew] Luck and [Kevin] Hogan eras. Have those positions dropped off because of scheme? It's worth asking because they don't innovate. It's shift and motion and deception to leverage your fronts, but they've been doing that for 15 years now."

How to succeed this season

Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

"The biggest success they could have this year is bringing on that younger group of starters and showing something that's specific to this season. Just anything different."