“Part of my identity died.” Andrew Luck’s retirement from the Colts back in 2019 was one of the biggest shocks in NFL history. But life after football has taken him to some surprising and inspiring places. Fast forward 6 years, and Andrew is no longer reminiscing about his days lighting up the gridiron. Instead, he’s now the general manager of the Stanford Cardinal football program, his alma mater. The Stanford football program Luck inherited is nothing like the one he left years ago.

As Stanford’s GM, Luck is handling the football side, like recruiting, roster management, and working with the coaching staff. And his first order of business was the hiring of his former Colts HC, Frank Reich, as the Cardinals’ interim head coach. It’s a reunion that brought excitement and hope. But the story behind that hire runs deep. Back in August 2019, just days before the NFL season kicked off, Andrew Luck dropped a bombshell on the Colts organization that he was walking away. Imagine being Frank Reich that day. The coach had only recently found his groove with Luck leading the team.

Reich found himself suddenly without the franchise quarterback he had trusted to lead the team. That offseason, the Colts tried several quarterbacks, but none could fill Luck’s shoes, and the team spiraled. As luck would have it, Reich was eventually let go by the Colts in 2022. Luck’s regret over leaving Reich in such a lurch never really faded. So when Luck stepped into his new role at Stanford, the first person he thought of was Reich. Their friendship had remained strong over the years, and Luck saw an opportunity to make things right. “The reason Frank and I have such a strong relationship,” Luck said. “Is because we’ve been incredibly honest about everything from the very beginning.”

And even when Luck addressed his decision to retire, Reich respected that. Thus, when Stanford needed a new coach, Luck didn’t hesitate to call Reich. “Look,” Luck says, “I retired on him, right?”  Luck had always been the golden son. The Stanford grad, the franchise’s savior, expected to fill Peyton Manning’s shoes and lead the Colts to glory. He pushed himself to be the leader everyone wanted, so much so that he started to lose his own sense of self. And eventually, it seeped into everything. In fact, he even felt guilty for not being invincible. Injuries and pain marked Luck’s retirement and drained his joy for the game. And he felt stuck in an unending cycle of rehab and hurt. That feeling of being trapped made him realize that quitting was the only way out.

Luck has confessed that he still carries a deep sense of guilt about how his departure left his teammates and coach Reich in a tough spot. “I’ll always have guilt about how it ended,” Luck says. “I let my teammates down.”  In that moment, he was painfully aware that his departure slammed the door on his teammates’ Super Bowl hopes. Even though the Colts players understood and supported his choice. He cherishes those college days, when he chose to return to Stanford for his senior year. He made a promise to finish strong with his college teammates and missed out on the chance to go No. 1 in the NFL draft. Thus, stopping in Indianapolis, mid-season and mid-promise, tugged at him ever since.

Why Andrew Luck believes Frank Reich is Stanford’s perfect match

After Stanford’s rocky patch under Troy Taylor, Andrew Luck knew the program needed a steady, trustworthy hand to lead the team through a tricky transition. And there was no one better for the job than his former NFL coach, Frank Reich. Taylor’s dismissal meant an urgent search for an interim head coach who could not only steady the ship but also align with Stanford’s values and vision. And who better to call than Reich?

For Luck, his history with Reich was gold. “Frank is a teacher, a winner, and a coach of the highest caliber,” Luck stated. Taylor’s firing amid investigations had left the program reeling. Luck needed someone who could calm the chaos, rebuild culture, and guide the team through this reset. “This is the perfect scenario for both of us,” Reich said. “It fits absolutely perfect. Just because it’s a one-year deal does not mean that we can’t take a major step to helping fulfill this vision have massive success, and what that looks like in the whole picture of success, not just the immediate ways that come to mind, but the whole picture of success.”

Reich added, “I feel like in the 2025 season, I can make an impact to go in that direction.” For Reich, the offer came almost out of nowhere. He was shopping at Costco when Luck called. Initially hesitant to jump back into coaching after years in the NFL, Reich soon felt drawn to Stanford’s unique opportunity. He even jokingly asked if Luck had lost his mind, but he said yes. He wanted to come back and help. This time, however, the coach was working under Luck, a reversal of their NFL roles.