Playing quarterback in the NFL is a dream for many kids across America. Every Sunday from September to January, young fans nationwide turn on the television to watch their favorite team’s quarterback compete in front of millions of fans. Playing quarterback certainly comes with its challenges, as it is one of the most mentally and physically demanding positions in all of sports. The quarterback’s job is to analyze an opposing team’s defense in a matter of seconds, then making a decision with the ball, and in the process avoiding 300 pound defensive linemen trying to violently knock them to the ground. Getting tackled repeatedly takes a toll on a player’s physical and mental well-being, and in many cases can derail even the most promising careers.

Andrew Luck is a living legend on Stanford campus. In three seasons at the collegiate level, Luck was a two-time Heisman Trophy runner up, and set the school’s quarterback records in all time yards, completion percentage and touchdowns. Luck was a force to be reckoned with on and off the football field, earning a spot as a member of the Academic First Team for the Pac-12 throughout each season of his collegiate career. His accomplishments and talent culminated in him being drafted first overall in the 2012 draft by the Indianapolis Colts, where he then dominated the NFL for seven years. However, his career was cut short due to repeated injuries, and he retired in 2019, just weeks before the new season.

Following his retirement, Luck spent time focusing on himself, avoiding the media and spotlight. Luck is known to have a very private life — separating his family from his football career — so his low profile following retirement did not come as a shock to fans. This changed on a local level in 2022, when Palo Alto High School football coaches David DeGeronimo and Jason Fung received an exciting email: Andrew Luck was interested in coaching Viking football.

Head Coach DeGeronimo recalls that he at first believed the email from Luck to be a joke. Luck had been under the radar for so long that reaching out for a position seemed out of the ordinary for him. Nevertheless, Luck began as a volunteer coach in 2023, bringing his professional understanding of the sport and knowledge to the team.

“Andrew is a gifted and talented football player with a very high level football IQ,” DeGeronimo said. “I think him deciding to coach at Palo Alto got his juices going again and he renewed his passion for the game.”

DeGeronimo also points out that Luck’s time at Paly served as a crucial stepping stone, equipping him for the greater challenges that lay ahead.

“I think his few years at Paly gave him valuable experience and convinced him he wanted to rebuild the football program at Stanford,” DeGeronimo said. “Now we get to watch him do great things in football again.”

Throughout his time at Paly, he mainly worked with the junior varsity and freshman teams, specifically with current sophomore and quarterback Justin Fung.

“The main thing he helped me with was definitely the fundamentals,” Fung said. “He never tried to over step and take over but would always help me with the small things like footwork, reads and tempo. He has developed me immensely for two years and helped me become a better quarterback and teammate. ”

Despite being a quarterback focused coach, his extensive experience as a leader on the field gave him the teaching skills to impact players in all positions, even those on the defensive side of the ball. His commanding presence and leadership was felt by four-year Paly linebacker and Claremont McKenna College commit, Joe Kessler (‘25).

“Even though he was only here for two seasons, his impact on our team will last for years to come,” Kessler said. “His football IQ and passion for the game is unlike anyone I’ve met, and he helped me grow as a player significantly.”

From 2010-2012, Luck dominated the Pac-12 with the Cardinal, winning the Rose Bowl. It seemed as though the entire  bay area tuned in to Stanford football games when Luck suited up; stadiums packed to the brim with fans trying to witness a Stanford legend in action.

Nowadays, Stanford stadium is lucky to hold 25,000 fans on gameday, a stark contrast from the 50,000 that Stanford averaged while Luck was playing.

Stanford hasn’t had a winning record since 2018, and since then the excitement around Cardinal football has continued to dissipate. Shortly after the final game of a disappointing 2024 season, Stanford announced they hired Luck to be their general manager (GM) of football. This title is new to the collegiate level, as typically the head coach holds all of the power when it comes to running the team. This new position has been implemented by many college football programs across the country, including USC, Texas, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

As for Luck’s responsibilities at Stanford, his new role has been described by ESPN as “a role that involves everything Stanford football touches.” The managerial position is brand new to college football, leaving Luck and others with uncertainty on the exact responsibilities of a collegiate GM.

“Every GM is a bit different, but [the role has] a lot of similarity to an NFL GM,” Luck said. “My role includes personnel decisions, but also business aspect decisions. This is unique among college football.”

Luck’s brief stint at Paly is the only coaching experience of his football career, but it provided him with valuable insights into how to influence a game from the sidelines.

“Communication skills, organization skills and talent evaluation are areas in which I improved while coaching at Paly, and they have a direct translation on my job now,” Luck said.

These skills, combined with his extensive football background, have put him in a position to be a valuable asset in shaping the future of Stanford football.

Stanford seems to be trying to recapture the hype that Luck produced while he was on campus — and it might play out in their favor. The hiring of Luck instantly caught headlines and landed him an interview on the popular show “College Gameday” hosted by Pat McAfee, Luck’s former teammate from the Indianapolis Colts.

On the show, Luck highlighted the need for Stanford to adapt their old-fashioned strategies to the new era of college sports with Name Image Likeness (NIL). According to 24/7 sports, over the last five years Stanford has averaged the 32nd overall recruiting class in the nation. Stanford, which has always maintained a commitment to high academic standards, has successfully overcome this recruiting challenge and consistently fielded competitive teams in the past. However, the introduction of NIL has further limited their recruiting options, especially since Stanford is hesitant to spend large sums of money to improve their team. Unfortunately, the promise of a high level education doesn’t compete with the millions of dollars other schools are offering their athletes.

Luck stated that the vision for Stanford is clear, and they are going to be competitive in recruiting and retaining the talent they already have on the roster, as the transfer portal has been an issue for Stanford as of late.

“We are going to go after the best and brightest,” Luck said, “We are looking for tough kids.”

Stanford’s 2025 recruiting class landed ahead of six fellow ACC teams, including rival team Cal Berkeley. Their recruitment should push them in the right direction in terms of ACC play, as they struggled greatly last year, only winning two in-conference games (Syracuse and Louisville).

Luck isn’t only focused on recruiting, as his first executive move as general manager was firing Head Coach Troy Taylor. A fresh start is what Stanford needs, and looking at the future, Luck is confident in Stanford’s path to success.

“Maybe we were behind, but no longer,” Luck said. “The house settlement will bring some sanity to the system and we are poised to compete.”