Tavita Pritchard, who led Stanford to one of greatest victories in school history nearly two decades ago in his first career start, has been named the Cardinal’s new head football coach.
The school announced to move Friday afternoon, a day before the Cardinal concludes its season at home against No. 9 Notre Dame.
Pritchard will succeed Frank Reich, the former NFL coach who took over as the interim head coach this season after Troy Taylor was fired amid off-field controversy. The Cardinal is 4-7, its highest win total in five seasons. In the release, the school said Reich will remain as a senior advisor to Pritchard.
Pritchard, 38, will become the 37th head coach in program history. He is a 2009 graduate of Stanford, and currently serves as the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders. Pritchard will take over at Stanford following the Commanders’ game on Sunday against Denver. Pritchard will be officially introduced at a news conference on Tuesday.
“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,” Andrew Luck, Stanford’s general manager, said in a released issued by the school. “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’s new boss succeeded him as Stanford’s starting quarterback during the 2009 season when Luck was a true freshman. But before that, Pritchard had already cemented himself in Stanford lore.
On Oct. 6, 2007, Pritchard made his first start after senior T.C. Ostrander suffered a seizure, and led Stanford to an improbable 24-23 win over No. 2 ranked USC. The Cardinal entered the game as a 41-point underdog and the game is still considered one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Pritchard, then a redshshirt sophomore, capped the victory with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford on fourth down with 49 seconds remaining.
Overall, Pritchard appeared in 31 games with Stanford and made 20 starts, throwing for 2,865 yards and 15 touchdowns. His final appearance with in the 2009 Sun Bowl, when he filled in for an injured Luck in the Sun Bowl (who had finger surgery). Prtichard was 8 for 19 for 118 yards in a 31-27 loss to Oklahoma.
“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 in the release. “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 is in his third season as quarterbacks coach of the Commanders, mentoring Jayden Daniels, Jacoby Brissett, Sam Howell and Marcus Mariota during his time in Washington. He helped the Commanders reach the 2024 NFC Championship Game.
“Tavita will be a fantastic head coach, and I believe he will be especially effective at Stanford,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said in Stanford’s release. “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.”
Reich said he is looking forward to working with Pritchard. Stanford has not played in a bowl game since 2018, the final year in a run of 10 straight appearances that began with the 2009 Sun Bowl.
“I am so grateful to have served as interim coach at Stanford,” Reich said in the release. “I believe Tavita is the perfect builder to help continue Stanford’s mission of success. I am proud to continue to work closely with Stanford Football and am eager to support Tavita in every way.”
Pritchard had a lengthy run as a Cardinal assistant before he went to the NFL. After joining the staff as a graduate assistant in 2010, Pritchard served as defensive assistant (2011-12) and running backs coach (2013). He was promoted to quarterbacks/wide receivers coach in 2014-17, and from 2018-22 was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.