Andrew Luck picked a familiar face to take over as Stanford’s interim football coach, hiring former NFL coach Frank Reich on Monday to replace the fired Troy Taylor.

Luck moved quickly in his new role as general manager of the football program, hiring Reich less than a week after making the decision to fire Taylor following a report that became public saying Taylor had been investigated twice for allegedly mistreating staffers.

Reich will be formally introduced at a news conference on Tuesday before Stanford starts its spring football session.

Reich coached Luck for one season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. Reich coached six years in the NFL for Indianapolis and Carolina, making the playoffs twice in that span.

“I have experienced first-hand the incredible impact Frank has demonstrated as a leader and have full confidence he is the perfect steward for this season of Stanford football,” Luck said in a statement. “Frank is a teacher, a winner and a coach of the highest caliber. Frank’s values align seamlessly with our vision for this program and I firmly believe in his ability to maximize the on-field potential of our student-athletes while serving as a role model in all aspects of their personal growth.”

Stanford is trying to rebuild its struggling football program after four straight seasons with a 3-9 record, including the last two with Taylor in charge.

Luck was hired last November to run the football program and report directly to school president Jon Levin. Stanford is also currently searching for an athletic director with Alden Mitchell hired last week as interim following Bernard Muir’s decision to step down.

Luck said earlier this month that Reich was one of the people he has consulted since taking this new job.

Reich played 13 years in the NFL as mostly a backup quarterback before having a long coaching career in the NFL starting in 2006 in Indianapolis. He was offensive coordinator in 2017 when Philadelphia won its first Super Bowl and was hired after that season as head coach for the Colts.

He went to four Super Bowls as a player in Buffalo, coming off the bench to engineer the biggest playoff comeback in NFL history when he rallied the Bills back from a 35-3 deficit to win a wild-card game in the 1992 season. He also went to two Super Bowls with Colts as a coaching intern in 2006 and an assistant in 2009.

Reich and Luck teamed to go 10-6 and win a playoff game that season before Luck abruptly retired just before the start of the 2019 season.

“I am thrilled to be working with Andrew again to help take an important step in establishing his vision for the Stanford football program,” Reich said in a statement. “Andrew is an elite leader and competitor, and those traits, along with his genuine passion for this university, resonated in every way and inspired me to accept this role. The unique responsibility to mentor the best student-athletes in the world, to be the absolute best in what they aspire to do, is an opportunity I will fully embrace.”

Reich made the playoffs just one time in his final four seasons without Luck on the Colts and was fired during the 2022 season.

He was hired the following year by Carolina and was fired during the 2023 season after starting his tenure 1-10. He had a 41-43-1 regular season record as a head coach in the NFL.

NFL

Banning the “tush push” is gaining momentum.

Still, it’ll take 24 of 32 votes to eliminate a play that’s become a short-yardage staple for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

NFL team owners, coaches and general managers are considering several potential rule changes at this week’s league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. Nothing has garnered more attention than Philadelphia’s version of the quarterback sneak.

The Green Bay Packers issued the proposal to ban it, citing player safety and pace of play.

Although NFL executive Troy Vincent said last month there have been zero injuries reported as a result of the play, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott, a member of the NFL’s competition committee, is leading the push to get rid of it.

“I feel where I’m most concerned is, even though there is not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is the health and safety of the players, first and foremost,” McDermott said. “It’s two things. It’s force, added force, No. 1 , and then the posture of the players, being asked to execute that type of play, that’s where my concern comes in. ... There is other data out there that suggests when you’re in a posture like we’re talking about, that can lead to serious injury. I think being responsible and proactive in that regard is the right way to go.”

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper announced he’s leaving college and entering the NBA draft. Harper, a 6-foot-6 point guard, is projected by many mock drafts to be selected right after Duke’s Cooper Flagg. He averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game for the Scarlet Knights this season.

Nell Fortner announced she is retiring following 15 seasons as a women’s head coach, including the last six at Georgia Tech.

Fortner also was the first coach and general manager for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever from 1999-2003 and coached the United States women’s national team to gold medals at the 1998 world championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Fortner won 272 games at the college level and earned coach of the year honors in three conferences. She was named Big Ten coach of the year in 1997 following her one season at Purdue and then coached eight seasons at Auburn, from 2004-12, where she was named Southeastern Conference coach of the year in 2009.

Fortner then moved to Georgia Tech, where she led the Yellow Jackets to this year’s NCAA Tournament and was named Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year in 2021. The Yellow Jackets finished 22-11 with a 74-49 loss to Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia Tech announced assistant LaSondra Barrett will serve as interim coach.

MISCELLANY

Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson, who won the 285-pound national title, has been voted the Hodge Trophy winner as the nation’s top men’s college wrestler.

Longtime manager Peter Vermes is out at Sporting Kansas City. The MLS club said it “mutually agreed to part ways” with Vermes after nearly two decades.