Andrew Luck returning to Stanford in expanded, ‘hands-on’ GM role: Is this the future of college football?

By Zak Keefer, Sam Khan Jr. and Lauren Merola

Former Stanford star quarterback Andrew Luck is returning to the football program as general manager, the school announced Saturday. Luck will start in his new role immediately, the school said.

In the expanded GM position, Luck, 35, will oversee every aspect of the program, both on and off the field. He will work with coach Troy Taylor on recruiting and roster management and with administration on fundraising, alumni relations, sponsorships, student-athlete support and stadium experience, the school said.

Luck will also be involved in the film room. When asked on “College GameDay” on Saturday morning if he would have a hand in the X’s and O’s, Luck said “absolutely” while acknowledging it’s mainly Taylor’s domain. Luck said he and Taylor are “close,” and that he was on Stanford’s hiring committee when the school brought Taylor on board before the 2023 season.

“I imagine this (role) being very hands-on,” Luck said.

Ready to build the future of Stanford Football.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/0F8tTTOBPx

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) November 30, 2024

While Luck assuming the GM title itself isn’t unique, the scope of his power is.

According to ESPN, the entire coaching staff reports to Luck. If he has final say on personnel decisions, that would be a significant evolution in how rosters are currently managed. In virtually every other FBS program, the head coach has the final say on who is signed — or who isn’t.

The only other program that approached something akin to an NFL model is Texas Tech, where head coach Joey McGuire allows his general manager James Blanchard to offer scholarships to recruits without his approval and that department is entrusted with the evaluation of recruits and transfers. But McGuire still has the final say.

Many power conference programs invest significantly in scouting and personnel departments to manage both high school recruiting and the transfer portal, similar to how NFL teams dedicate staff to college (NFL Draft) and pro (free agency) scouting. Some general managers, like Blanchard, Alabama’s Courtney Morgan, Ohio State’s Mark Pantoni and Clemson’s Jordan Sorrells, make six-figure salaries. But that’s the exception, not the rule — most personnel and recruiting staffers under the GM make five-figure salaries.

But GMs, colloquially known as directors of player personnel, have become a must-have position for modern programs.

The GM role in college football became en vogue in recent years. With the launch of the transfer portal in 2018 and rise of transfers since, the shift to making transfers immediately eligible plus the addition of NIL compensation, roster management has become quite complex. Gone are the days of simply signing 25 high school recruits per year. Now most teams sign a mix of high school recruits and a double-digit number of transfers.

Luck’s role also will span far beyond simple roster management, though that’s a key component of it. One aspect that’s unclear: With the coaching staff reporting to Luck, how much influence will he have in hiring and firing decisions? Does that remain the domain of the athletic director and school president? If Luck has significant weight in those decisions, his role more resembles that of an NFL GM.

Stanford’s decision to give Luck more power than any other college football GM could foreshadow the sport’s future. With revenue sharing on the way via the House v. NCAA settlement, college football rosters can be managed similarly to the way NFL rosters are: Payrolls will have to be managed. Evolving how players are acquired and teams are built only makes sense.

The Cardinal may be on the cutting edge of college football program management and installing someone like Luck, a sharp mind who has a deep football background and is passionate about the school, is a logical first step.

“I am a product of this University, of Nerd Nation; I love this place,” Luck said in a statement. “I believe deeply in Stanford’s unique approach to athletics and academics and the opportunity to help drive our program back to the top. Coach Taylor has the team pointed in the right direction, and I cannot wait to work with him, the staff, and the best, brightest, and toughest football players in the world.”

Stanford has always been Luck’s happy place. It’s where, in four years, he went from nerdy, redshirt freshman to a two-time Heisman runner-up and arguably the best NFL prospect since John Elway. It’s where he met his wife Nicole as an undergrad, and where they settled with their two daughters in 2022 after moving from Indianapolis — where they lived for three years after he stunned the Indianapolis Colts and NFL with his August 2019 retirement.

Luck was most recently volunteering as a quarterback coach at Palo Alto High School while pursuing his Master’s degree in education at Stanford. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in architectural design there in 2012.

But Luck was looking, since as far back as the early days of his retirement, for his next challenge, unsure of what was next for him. He craves a challenge, and retiring at such a young age — he was just 29 when he walked away from the NFL — left him wandering. He surfed. He skied. He cooked. He read. For a time, he was a stay-at-home dad while Nicole pursued a career in television production. He’d sometimes joke with himself, saying “I can’t be retired at 30. That ain’t right.”

So the gig with the Stanford football program — and a unique one at that — fits him and his talents.

Along with Jim Plunkett and Elway, Luck is one of the greatest players in program history. In three years with the Cardinal, Luck completed a combined 67 percent of passes for 9,430 yards and 82 touchdowns against 22 interceptions. He added 957 yards and seven scores on the ground en route to a 2022 College Football Hall of Fame induction.

Now, Lucks looks to reinstate dominance at Stanford after the program posted four straight 3-9 seasons.

“Football gave me a lot,” Luck said last spring. “Most importantly … the relationships and the experiences with people that I love. Part of me feels like it’s my turn to give back to this game.”

Required reading

(Photo: David Madison / Getty Images)