Stanford football has a new head coach.
The school hired Tavita Pritchard, who is currently the Commanders’ quarterbacks coach, for the job on Friday.
“Winning in college football today requires a leader of men who can build and motivate teams, recruit future stars, and develop and connect with talent,” Stanford general manager Andrew Luck said in a statement.
“Tavita Pritchard is exactly the right head coach at the right time to help us build on the foundation of this season and lead Stanford football to its next great era. Coach Pritchard is a culture builder, a teacher of football of the highest caliber, and a humble yet determined servant leader who is committed to the success of Stanford’s student-athletes.
“I could not be more excited to welcome Tavita, Caroline and their family back to campus.”
Pritchard, who graduated from Stanford in 2009, spent 13 seasons at the university from 2010 to 2022 in various coaching roles before leaving for Washington.
“Stanford is a place like no other and my family and I are full of gratitude to be returning home in every sense of the word,” Pritchard said. “I have a clear vision of the hard work, brotherhood and tenacity it will take to build a championship Stanford football program. I cannot wait to partner with Andrew and begin working with the best student-athletes in the world to achieve excellence on and off the field.”
Pritchard played four seasons for the Cardinal, serving as the team’s starting quarterback for parts of two seasons before being replaced by Luck in 2009.
Tavita will reportedly join Stanford after the Commanders’ game against the Broncos on Sunday night.
“Tavita will be a fantastic head coach, and I believe he will be especially effective at Stanford,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said. “Players gravitate to him, and he quickly earned their respect and mine. Tavita is smart, collaborative, diligent and he brings people together. He is the perfect coach to build a winning program in today’s college football landscape.”
The move is the first major hiring for Luck, who was named the Cardinal’s football GM last November.
In March, Stanford fired head coach Troy Taylor after reports emerged that he had been investigated twice for allegedly mistreating staffers.
Frank Reich served as the interim head coach this season, during which the Cardinal went 4-7 heading into their season finale against Notre Dame on Saturday.
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