Stanford fired football coach Troy Taylor on Tuesday, less than a week after an ESPN report revealed that Taylor had twice been the subject of third-party investigations into complaints from athletic department employees over hostile behavior.
Former Stanford star quarterback Andrew Luck, now the football program’s general manager, became Taylor’s direct supervisor upon taking the job last November and made the decision Tuesday to terminate Taylor after just two seasons.
“It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change,” Luck said in a statement provided to The Athletic. “Additionally, in recent days, there has been significant attention to Stanford investigations in previous years related to Coach Taylor. After continued consideration it is evident to me that our program needs a reset. In consultation with university leadership, I no longer believe that Coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program.”
Luck said a search for the next coach has begun, and an acting coach may be named for the 2025 season.
A statement from Stanford Football General Manager Andrew Luck.
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) March 25, 2025
Taylor, 56, was hired in December 2022 to replace the winningest head coach in school history, David Shaw. He went 3-9 in each of his two seasons.
The March 19 ESPN report said that Stanford commissioned investigations in 2023 and ‘24 after multiple employees filed official complaints regarding Taylor’s behavior. Several complaints alleged Taylor showed “aggressive and hostile behavior” toward colleagues, most of whom were women.
The investigations concluded that Taylor’s behavior was “inconsistent with the standards” of Stanford, according to ESPN’s reporting. But despite receiving a warning letter after the first investigation acknowledging he could be fired if the conduct continued, Taylor remained employed until Tuesday.
A person briefed on the decision said Taylor received “significant disciplinary action” following the second investigation, including a financial penalty and workplace training. The same person said Luck knew some details of Taylor’s situation with the school prior to accepting the GM job and was officially briefed after starting. A second person briefed on last summer’s discussions said former university president Marc Tessier-Lavigne, current university president Jon Levin, who started in August 2024, and Condoleezza Rice, special advisor on athletics, were involved in the school’s discussions regarding disciplinary actions.
Athletic director Bernard Muir, who stepped down earlier this month, was Taylor’s direct supervisor at the time. The second source said Muir’s resignation was not related to Taylor’s disciplinary issues.
In a statement following the ESPN report last week, Taylor said, “I willingly complied with the investigations, accepted the recommendations that came out of them, and used them as a learning opportunity to grow in leadership and how I interact with others. I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and collegially with my colleagues so that we can achieve success for our football program together.”
Kate Weaver Patterson of KWP Consulting & Mediation was hired to conduct the first investigation in the spring of 2023. The ensuing report from Patterson detailed multiple complaints about Taylor’s behavior toward female staffers, including multiple instances of making inappropriate comments regarding their appearance, according to ESPN.
The report also found that the Stanford football program was an environment not welcoming to women.
After two new complaints surfaced against Taylor, Stanford commissioned a second investigation into Taylor last June conducted by the law firm of Libby, O’Brien, Kingsley & Champion. According to ESPN, the report by Timothy O’Brien declared Taylor’s behavior toward an NCAA female compliance officer was “inappropriate, discriminatory on the basis of her sex” when Taylor attempted to have her removed from her position after she revealed concerns regarding NCAA rules violations such as hosting illegal practices and player eligibility.
O’Brien found seven Level III NCAA violations from 2022 to 2024, per ESPN’s report. The second investigation concluded last July.
“Under Coach Taylor’s leadership, the football program has disregarded or simply not followed NCAA rules that they have been repeatedly and consistently educated on by the Compliance Office,” O’Brien wrote in the documents obtained by ESPN.
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
