Rumors Have Stanford Football Landing Former Dallas Cowboys Coach for Key Position

Rumor has it that Stanford is heavily interested in Kris Richard.

Jan 7, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; A view of Dallas Cowboys players' helmets on the bench against the Washington Commanders during the first quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Stanford football is slowly putting a staff together for new head coach Tavita Pritchard. Mum on any updates regarding the staff since Pritchard's hiring at the end of November, recent weeks have seen Stanford make a flurry of moves to assemble their coaching staff.

They've hired former Virginia assistant Terry Heffernan to be the offensive coordinator and former Michigan State offensive coordinator, Brian Lindgren to be the quarterbacks coach as well as retaining some staff members from the prior regime.

The staff is coming together quite nicely, but there are still several roles that need to be filled, most notably the role of defensive coordinator. Having Bobby April III and Andy Thompson serve in that role last season, the Cardinal moved on from April III while sliding Thompson to full-time inside linebackers coach, leaving Stanford in the market for a new defensive playcaller.

But rumor has it that Stanford has its sights set on a big name in longtime NFL assistant coach, Kris Richard.

The Cardinal have not hired anybody or made anything official with Richard, but the program is reportedly doing their due diligence on prospective candidates—with Richard among the list of potential defensive coordinator options for Stanford.

Richard, the former defensive coordinator for the Legion of Boom Seattle Seahawks, has spent pretty much his entire coaching career in the NFL and would bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience to any team that hires him.

Starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at USC under head coach Pete Carroll, Richard followed Carroll to the Seahawks in 2010, starting off as the assistant defensive backs coach.

Promoted to cornerbacks coach in 2011 and then defensive backs coach in 2012, Richard won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2013, coaching NFL legends such as Stanford's Richard Sherman. Serving as the defensive backs coach through the 2014 season, Richard was promoted to defensive coordinator, a role he held from 2015-17.

Fired by the Seahawks after a disappointing 2017 season, Richard was hired by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 to be the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, a role he was in for two seasons until the Cowboys fired head coach Jason Garrett.

Not retained by the new staff, Richard spent 2020 out of football before the New Orleans Saints hired him to be the defensive backs coach in 2021. In 2022, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator before being fired after the season.

Most recently, Richard was the defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but after Doug Pederson was fired following the 2024 campaign, the new staff in Jacksonville did not retain Richard. Spending 2025 out of football, Richard is eager to return to the sidelines in 2026—whether that is at the college or the NFL level.

Prior to rumors about Richard, the Cardinal were reportedly interested in former Boise State and Texas defensive coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski, but ultimately passed on him. With the transfer portal window open and the Cardinal needing to fill a number of holes, hiring a defensive coordinator should be the main focus to rebuilding the program for years to come.