Stanford hired Tavita Pritchard, a former quarterback and assistant coach at the school, as its new head coach on Friday.Pritchard, 38, is currently quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders but will leave the NFL team after Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.”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 of his former teammate in a news release. “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.”Pritchard played at Stanford from 2006-09 and is famously known for delivering one of the biggest upsets in college football history in his first career start.Pritchard steered the Cardinal to a 24-23 victory over No. 2 Southern California on Oct. 6, 2007, after Stanford was installed as 41-point underdogs. He tossed the winning 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford on fourth down with 48 seconds left.In 2009, Luck beat out Pritchard for the starting quarterback job. Pritchard passed for 2,865 yards and 15 touchdowns and was intercepted 24 times in 31 games (20 starts) for the Cardinal.After his playing career ended in 2009, Pritchard spent the next 13 seasons on the Stanford staff before taking the job with the Commanders in 2023.
