Stanford Fires Head Coach Troy Taylor Amid Bullying Allegations

Head Coach Troy Taylor was fired Tuesday morning by Stanford amid allegations of bullying women within the program.

The decision puts the Cardinal in a tough spot. With spring football about to begin, the Stanford roster now has a 30-day window where players can explore transfer options. In addition to the necessity of finding a new head coach, the program could essentially be gutted talent-wise in short order.

Last week, reports broke that multiple people within the athletic department were complaining about Taylor and his behavior towards them. Specifically, female staffers reportedly launched complaints about Taylor and his penchant for commenting on their physical appearances.

Former star QB Andrew Luck became the program’s General Manager late last year. As he told The Athletic, it was his decision in opting to part ways with Taylor:

It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change. 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.

Taylor came to Stanford from Sacramento State. He had played his college ball at Cal, and ultimately played a few seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. A QB in his playing days, Taylor was known for offensive innovation. While at Sacramento State, he led the Hornets to a 30-8 record over three years.

A rising coach in the industry, Stanford hired him with the hopes he’d revive the program which had fallen off from the days of Jim Harbaugh and the height of the David Shaw era.

In two years with the Cardinal, Taylor notched two-straight 3-9 seasons (6-18 overall).