Frank Reich Sparks Stunning Revival of Stanford Football

Stanford football was left for dead. An upset loss to San José State to end the 2024 season saw the program reach a low point. Finishing 3-9 for the fourth straight season and appearing to have no direction, a lot of questions about Stanford football's future came up once the offseason began.

Then came the firing of head coach Troy Taylor right before spring practice. At that point, Stanford football was in major limbo and hanging on for dear life.

When general manager Andrew Luck hired his former head coach with the Indianapolis Colts, Frank Reich, to be the interim for the season, a little bit of excitement and optimism came back to the program.

After all, Reich had a strong track record in the NFL and is a very well-respected name. But even though Reich's hiring turned some heads, doubts still cluttered the minds of many. Nobody expected Stanford to amount to much this season.

However, since taking over as the interim head coach, Reich not only has Stanford playing some very good football, but he has the Cardinal in a good position to both improve off of their 3-9 record and play for a bowl game for the first time since 2018.

So far, the Reich era has done the one thing that nobody expected for 2025—given Stanford football new life.

Reich Has Stanford Excelling on the Field

Oct 18, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbranson (15) signals during the first quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Reich has not only received rave reviews from Luck and the rest of the staff, but the players have bought in and embraced the vision that Reich had for this this season. Each and every game, the Cardinal have looked like a team that is ready to compete, and even though they have struggled in some games this year, they have fought hard until the very end.

But one thing that the Cardinal have been great at under Reich is winning at home, which is something that the team seemed to really struggle with under Taylor.

Sitting at 3-4 on the season but undefeated at home, the Cardinal have picked up some very memorable wins.

Those include upsetting Boston College in the home opener, beating San José State by one point in come-from-behind fashion and then upsetting Florida State. FSU came in on a major losing streak, but started the season off at 3-0 and looked like a team ready to compete for the College Football Playoff early on.

Stanford Getting Set Up for the Future

Oct 18, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Cole Tabb (33) reacts with his teammates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

But what has been most important about the Reich Era is how this season sets the program up for the future. When Reich was hired, Luck made one thing very clear from the start—Reich's tenure would only last one season, regardless of the team's performance.

With that being the case, Luck and Co. will conduct a full-scale, national coaching search to find a permanent replacement for Taylor, who will lead the program for the long haul. And with a promising season this year, the new head coach will come into a much better situation than expected, having a team that has shown that it is capable of success.

At one point, Stanford football was one of the top programs in the nation year after year, always ranked in the top 25 and consistently competing for conference titles and prestigious bowl game appearances.

And while in recent seasons Stanford has struggled to adapt to the new era of college football, it is clear that by bringing in Luck, the university is committed to bringing the football team back to prominence. Stanford is also beginning to get some big-name recruits, which bodes well for the near future.

So far, Luck has proven that he could be the secret to success, proving that with his first big move on bringing in Reich for 2025.