Inside Colby Parkinson’s Take on Stanford's New Coach

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson is having himself a season and as the native of Northern California continues to ball out, his collegiate home is looking to do the same.

Parkinson Makes His Opinion Known

On Monday, Parkinson held a press conference following his strong performance against the Arizona Cardinals. A proud alum of Stanford University, I asked Parkinson for his thoughts on his alma mater hiring Tavita Pritchard as their next head coach.

Jun 8, 2023; Ashburn, Virginia, USA; Washington Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard (M) talks to Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) and Commanders quarterback Jacoby Brissett (12) during day three of minicamp at OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park, held inside the training bubble due to poor air quality from Canadian wildfire smoke in Ashburn. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Pritchard, a fellow Stanford alum, was an assistant for the University from 2010-2022, starting out as a graduate assistant before rising through the ranks to become the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Following Stanford's hire of Troy Taylor as head coach, Pritchard became the Washington Commanders' quarterbacks coach, assisting Jayden Daniels to his historic rookie season in which Daniels won Rookie of the Year, secured the Commanders' first playoff win in two decades, and returned them to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.

Pritchard was Parkinson's offensive coordinator at Stanford for two seasons.

"I'm super excited for Ta," stated Parkinson. "I mean, he is a phenomenal dude. I think that is a great hire for Stanford. Excited to see what he does with the program moving forward. I know it's only up from here. Tavita is a very personable guy. He's going to kill it with recruiting. He's the perfect Stanford man."

Oct 5, 2019; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal tight end Colby Parkinson (84) stands on the field before the game against the Washington Huskies at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

"Obviously, he played there in the early 2000s and we've had some of the most memorable games in Stanford history. So excited to see what he does, and excited to get back on the farm and see him up there."

During his playing days, Pritchard secured one of the school's most legendary wins when he came in for T.C. Ostrander, who suffered a medical incident the week before Stanford upset the #1 ranked USC Trojans in Los Angeles.

Stanford entered the game as 41-point underdogs. Before the game, Pritchard had only thrown three total passes. Pritchard completed 11 passes in the contest, including a first down strike to Richard Sherman on fourth and 20 before hitting Mark Bradford for the game-winning score on fourth and goal from the USC 10-yard line.

How This Affects the Rams

In the immediate, the move doesn't affect the Rams at all. However, Stanford was a tight end factory during Pritchard's time with the program and Sean McVay loves to hire collegiate coaches. While there is no direct link between Pritchard and McVay, McVay praised Jayden Daniels before the season, and if Pritchard can recreate that skillset at Stanford with his next quarterback, who knows what the future holds.

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