Early history (1891–1979) Stanford first fielded a football team in 1891. The team was without a coach and only played a few games. Early football pioneer
Walter Camp served as Stanford's head coach in 1892 and from 1894 to 1895. Football on the
Pacific Coast had been on the rise since the late 1910s.
Pop Warner era Early in 1922,
Pop Warner signed a contract with Stanford University in which he would begin coaching in 1924, after his contract with Pitt expired. Health concerns, a significant pay raise and the rising status of Pacific Coast football made Warner make the big change. Years later, he wrote:I felt my health would be better on the Pacific coast. Weather conditions at Pittsburgh during the football season are rather disagreeable, and much of the late season work had to be done upon a field which was ankle deep in mud. At the close of every season I would be in poor physical condition, twice being rendered incapable of coaching while I recuperated in a hospital. Doctors advised me that the climate of the Pacific coast would be much better for a man of my age and in the work in which I was engaged. In
1924, Warner began his nine-year tenure at Stanford. When he began coaching, Stanford was one of nine teams in the
Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). Warner inherited a notable squad from the previous year, including
Ernie Nevers (whom Warner considered his greatest player) and All-American ends
Ted Shipkey and
Jim Lawson. A season highlight was the final game against Stanford's
arch-rival California at
California Memorial Stadium, the last game of the regular season. Before the game, both teams were undefeated and Stanford had not beaten California since 1905. Nevers did not play due to a broken ankle. Late in the game, California was leading 20–3; California coach
Andy Smith, sure the game was over, began substituting regular players. Warner seized the opportunity to combine passing with the
trick plays for which he was known (a fake reverse and a full
spinner), and Stanford made a comeback. The game ended in a 20–20 tie. Because the game was California's second tie, Stanford was chosen to play in the
Rose Bowl on New Year's Day against the
University of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish coached by
Knute Rockne. Like Warner, Rockne is considered one of the greatest coaches in football history. According to journalist
Allison Danzig, "With the exception of Knute Rockne of
Notre Dame, Pop Warner was the most publicized coach in football." The game was thus a test of two different and highly influential systems of football: "the Warner system with the
wing backs, unbalanced line and gigantic power [and the]
Knute Rockne system with its rhythmic, dancing
shift, lightning speed, balanced line and finely timed blocking". Notre Dame's
backfield was composed of the renowned
Four Horsemen. Nevers played all 60 minutes of the game, and rushed for (more yardage than the Four Horsemen combined). Warner's offense moved the ball but was unable to score, and Notre Dame won 27–10. During the
1925 season, Stanford lost just one PCC game (to Washington); California was finally defeated, 27–7. It was the first year of a new rivalry, with coach
Howard Jones and the
University of Southern California (USC) team. In their first game, at the
Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum, Stanford scored twice in the first half but had to hold off the charging Trojans in a 13–9 win. Because of the loss to Washington, Warner's team was not invited to the Rose Bowl. Stanford won all its
1926 games, crushing California 41–7 and narrowly defeating
USC 13–12. Warner's team was invited to the
Rose Bowl to play
Alabama. Like the game against the Fighting Irish, Stanford dominated but the result was a 7–7 tie. After the game, both teams were recognized as national champions by a number of publications. The
1927 season was one of underachievement and ultimate success. Stanford lost its third game to non-conference
St. Mary's College. Stanford's next loss was against non-conference
Santa Clara. The game against USC was a 13–13 tie. However, that year, Stanford defeated California 13–6. The game included a
bootleg play, the invention of which some credit to Warner. Powers stated that, Stanford put the game on ice in the fourth period when Pop introduced the bootlegger play, which was to be widely copied and still is in use. On the original bootlegger, Warner made use of
Biff Hoffman's tremendous hands. Hoffman would take the pass from center and then fake to another back. Keeping the ball, he would hide it behind him and run as though he had given it to a teammate. Sometimes defensive players would step out of Hoffman's path, thinking he was going to block. Hoffman "bootlegged" for the touchdown against California ... Despite the two losses, Stanford finished the season as PCC co-champion. They were invited to the
1928 Rose Bowl against Pitt, Warner's former team now coached by protégé
Jock Sutherland. Warner broke his losing Rose Bowl streak, defeating Sutherland 7–6. The win was Warner's last appearance at the Rose Bowl. The
1929 season is known for Warner's regular use of the
hook and lateral, a play that involves a receiver who runs a
curl pattern, catches a short pass and immediately laterals the ball to another receiver running a
crossing route. According to the October 25, 1929
Stanford Daily, "The trickiness that Pop Warner made famous in his spin plays and passing is very evident ... The
frosh have been drilling all week on fast, deceptive forward and lateral pass plays, and together with the reverses will have a widely varied attack". That season brought Warner his second straight loss to Jones, with Stanford defeated by the Trojans 7–0. USC won the conference, and went to the
Rose Bowl. Jones went on to win every year thereafter, including
1932, Warner's last season at Stanford. Because of the five consecutive defeats, Warner was severely criticized by Stanford alumni. In all, Warner and Jones played eight games; Jones won five, Warner two and one was a tie. Against Stanford's main rival, California, Warner won five games, tied three and lost one. ======== , one of the "Vow Boys" After
Pop Warner's departure,
Claude E. "Tiny" Thornhill was promoted from line coach and named head coach prior to the 1933 season. Players of the Stanford class of 1936 had seen Stanford's 13–0 home loss to rival USC during their freshman season, 1932. This caused quarterback
Frank Alustiza to proclaim, "They will never do that to our team. We will never lose to the Trojans." The press reported on the vow, but it was forgotten until the next fall—facing USC during Thornhill's first season, the Stanford varsity was suddenly called upon to make good on it. The team kept its pledge, winning each of their contests over USC: 13–7 in 1933, 16–0 in 1934, and 3–0 in 1935. Four of the Vow Boys — fullback
Bobby Grayson, halfback "Bones" Hamilton, end
Jim "Monk" Moscrip, and tackle
Bob "Horse" Reynolds — were later inducted to the
College Football Hall of Fame. Other notable players whose careers overlapped with the Vow Boys included
David Packard (class of 1934), who went on to co-found
Hewlett-Packard, and
Bill Corbus, a guard and kicker during the 1931–1933 seasons who was also inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. In his first three years, Thornhill led his Indians to the
Rose Bowl Game each season. Thornhill was the first Stanford coach to lead his team to postseason play in his first three seasons, a feat not matched until
David Shaw's 2011 to 2013 teams. Stanford lost the first two appearances, but won the
1936 Rose Bowl over
SMU, 7–0. After those first three seasons, Thornhill's teams went steadily downhill, culminating in a 1–7–1 season in 1939, after which Thornhill was fired and replaced by
Clark Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy coached the team for two seasons, posting an undefeated record for the
1940 season—that team ran the
T formation and was nicknamed the "Wow Boys"—culminating with a win in the
Rose Bowl over
Nebraska.
World War II and later , winner of the 1970
Heisman Trophy Marchmont Schwartz led Stanford's football program from 1942 to 1950 (Stanford did not field a football team from 1943 to 1945 because of
World War II). During his tenure, Stanford made one bowl appearance, a win in the 1949
Pineapple Bowl.
Chuck Taylor led Stanford's football team from 1951 to 1957. Taylor's 1951 team finished 9–2 and lost in the
Rose Bowl. The tenure of
Jack Curtice was a dismal one. The Indians compiled a record of 14–36 from 1957 to 1962, which included an 0–10 campaign in 1960. played at Stanford from 1979 to 1982
John Ralston came to Stanford in 1963 and helped revive a sagging program. Over nine seasons, Ralston guided the team back to national respectability while building a mark of 55–36–3. In his last two seasons, 1970–1971, Ralston's teams won two
Pacific-8 titles and notched back-to-back Rose Bowl victories over
Ohio State and
Michigan, both of whom were undefeated coming into the Rose Bowl game. Under Ralston's tutelage, Stanford
quarterback Jim Plunkett won the
Heisman Trophy in 1970. Plunkett and a stout defense led the team to a 9–3 record in 1970, an effort which resulted in a Rose Bowl victory over No. 2
Ohio State, the program's 4th. Plunkett also won the Heisman trophy that season, and he remains the only Stanford player to receive the award. Stanford won the Rose Bowl again the following year, 13–12 over undefeated
Michigan, as Stanford kicker Rod Garcia booted a 31-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the game. Ralston left Stanford following the 1971 season to take his talents to the
NFL, accepting the position of head coach for the
Denver Broncos. In January 1972, when Ralston left to coach the NFL's Denver Broncos,
Jack Christiansen was promoted from assistant coach and hired as Stanford's head coach. Christiansen, whose hiring coincided with the university changing the school's nickname from Indians to Cardinals (shortened to Cardinal in 1981), spent five years as Stanford's head coach, compiling a winning record each year and a 30–22–3 overall record. He was criticized for starting Mike Cordova rather than
Guy Benjamin at quarterback during the 1975 season and for switching between quarterbacks during the 1976 season. One day prior to the final game of the 1976 season, Stanford announced that it was terminating Christiansen as its head coach. Under Christianson, Stanford never had a losing season, though Christiansen's tenure was largely marked by mediocrity. In 1977,
Bill Walsh was hired as the head coach. He stayed for two seasons. His two Stanford teams were successful, posting a 9–3 record in 1977 with a win in the
Sun Bowl vs.
LSU, and 8–4 in 1978 with a win in the
Bluebonnet Bowl. His notable players at Stanford included quarterbacks
Guy Benjamin and
Steve Dils, wide receivers
James Lofton and
Ken Margerum, linebacker
Gordy Ceresino, in addition to running back
Darrin Nelson. Walsh was the
Pac-8 Conference Coach of the Year in 1977. Walsh left Stanford after the 1978 season to move to the
NFL's
San Francisco 49ers, where he would earn a reputation as one of the NFL's greatest head coaches of all time. In 1979,
Rod Dowhower was promoted from wide receivers coach to Stanford's head coach. In his lone season, Stanford compiled a record of 5–5–1. Future
Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway enrolled at Stanford in 1979. Elway became one of Stanford's most iconic and successful players; however, the team struggled during his tenure.
Paul Wiggin era (1980–1983) New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator and former
Kansas City Chiefs head coach
Paul Wiggin was hired as head coach at his alma mater on February 1, 1980. Despite the presence of quarterback
John Elway on the team during his first three years, Wiggin was unable to lead Stanford to a bowl game during his tenure and was dismissed following the 1983 season with a 16–28 record over four years. Wiggin's efforts to reach a bowl game had come agonizingly close in 1982, when his team fell victim to what simply became known as
The Play on November 20. In an incredible finish against Cal, the school's arch-rival, Stanford, led by quarterback Elway, drove down the field to kick a go-ahead field goal with just seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff, Stanford's band came onto the field. Cal took advantage of the chaos by lateraling five times to score the winning touchdown. Elway's career culminated in that game's loss, a game Stanford athletic director Andy Geiger said cost Elway the Heisman Trophy. Wiggin was fired following a poor 1–10 campaign in 1983.
Jack Elway era (1984–1988) Succeeding Wiggin as the Cardinal head coach was John Elway's father,
Jack Elway, who came to Stanford from
San Jose State. Under his tutelage, the Cardinal compiled a record of 25–29–2. The best season during the Elway era was an 8–4 campaign in 1986, which culminated in a loss in the
Gator Bowl. That season would be the only winning campaign during Elway's tenure as head coach. He was dismissed after 3–6–2 season in 1988. going 3–0 in the
Big Game against the
California Golden Bears. In 1990, his Stanford team defeated the top-ranked
Notre Dame in
South Bend, Indiana. His tenure culminated with an 8–4 record (Stanford's best since 1986). A loss to Washington in the opening game of the season was the deciding factor for the Pac-10 championship. The Cardinal made an appearance in the
1991 Aloha Bowl, where his team lost to
Georgia Tech on a last-minute touchdown. Green left Stanford after three seasons to accept the head coaching position with the
NFL's
Minnesota Vikings.
Walsh's return (1992–1994) Bill Walsh returned to Stanford as head coach in 1992, leading the Cardinal to a 10–3 record and a
Pacific-10 Conference co-championship. Stanford finished the season with an upset victory over
Penn State in the
Blockbuster Bowl on January 1, 1993, and a # 9 ranking in the final
AP Poll. However, some Cardinal football players vandalized
George Segal's
Gay Liberation sculpture in 1994, wherein with paint and wedged a bench in between the figures of the group. LGBT students at Stanford openly protested against the fact that this act could not be legally deemed a
hate crime, as California's definition of a hate crime consists of the violation of an individual's (rather than an institution's) natural/civil liberties. After this and consecutive losing seasons, Walsh resigned that year from Stanford and retired from coaching. In his seven seasons as head coach, he led the Cardinal to a 44–36–1 record and four
bowl game appearances. In 2000, he was presented with the Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award that is given annually to honor "an outstanding college football coach and role model for career achievement". His best team was the
1999 team, which won the school's first outright
Pacific-10 Conference title in 29 years and appeared in the
2000 Rose Bowl. Willingham's 44 wins were the most by a Stanford coach since
John Ralston.
Troy Walters was arguably Stanford's best player during this time, receiving All-American honors and the
Fred Biletnikoff Award in 1999, and setting school career records in receiving yards and receptions. Willingham left Stanford following the 2001 season to accept the head coaching position at
Notre Dame.
Buddy Teevens era (2002–2004) Buddy Teevens coached Stanford from 2002 to 2004. In his three years at the Farm, his teams posted a 10–23 record, However, Stanford failed to improve much during his tenure. Teevens went winless against rivals
USC,
Cal, and
Notre Dame, and never posted a win against a team that finished the season with a winning record. The Associated Press noted that Teevens was "respected for his class and loyalty" and that he even appeared at the official announcement of his firing.
Walt Harris era (2005–2006) Walt Harris was the head coach at Stanford for two seasons. In his first season as head coach there he posted a record of 5–6. In his
second season as head coach the team posted a 1–11 record, the school's worst since going
0–10 in 1960. Harris was notorious for the extremely rare and bizarre decision to punt on 3rd down while trailing UCLA 7–0 on October 1, 2006, during his second season. He was fired on December 4, 2006, two days after Stanford's regular season ended. By the end of his tenure at Stanford, Harris had surpassed
Jack Curtice with the lowest winning percentage in the history of Stanford football, with a .261 mark.
Jim Harbaugh era (2007–2010) Jim Harbaugh was named the head football coach at Stanford University in December 2006, replacing Walt Harris. Harbaugh's father, Jack, was Stanford's
defensive coordinator from 1980 to 1981, while Harbaugh attended
Palo Alto High School, located directly across the street from
Stanford Stadium. Harbaugh stirred some intra-conference controversy in March 2007, when he was quoted as saying rival
USC head coach "
Pete Carroll's only got one more year, though. He'll be there one more year. That's what I've heard. I heard it inside the staff." Upon further questions, Harbaugh claimed he had heard it from staff at USC. The comment caused a rebuke from Carroll. (In fact, Carroll would be at USC for three more years.) At the Pacific-10 Conference media day on July 26, 2007, Harbaugh praised the Trojans, stating "There is no question in my mind that USC is the best team in the country and may be the best team in the history of college football." The declaration, especially in light of his earlier comment, garnered more media attention. Later in the season, Stanford defeated No. 1 USC
24–23 with a touchdown in the final minute. With USC being the favorite by 41 points, it was statistically the greatest upset in college football history. Although Stanford lost to USC in 2008, Harbaugh and the Stanford Cardinal upset USC at home again with a score of 55–21 on November 14, 2009. Stanford's 55 points was the most ever scored on USC in the Trojans' history until
Oregon scored 62 in a 62–51 win over USC on November 3, 2012. It was
Pete Carroll's first November loss as USC head coach. Harbaugh never lost in USC's home stadium, the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In January 2009, Harbaugh was confirmed to have been interviewed by the
New York Jets for the head coach position, although the job was eventually offered to
Rex Ryan. In
2009, the Cardinal had a comeback season, finishing the regular season at 8–4, finishing No. 21 in the polls, and receiving an invitation to play in the
2009 Sun Bowl, the Cardinal's first bowl appearance since 2001. Running back
Toby Gerhart was named a
Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing second to
Mark Ingram II in the closest margin of voting in Heisman history. On December 13, 2009, Harbaugh was rewarded with a three-year contract extension through the 2014 season. The
2010 season brought more success for Harbaugh and the Cardinal. The team went 11–1 in the regular season, with their only loss coming from
Oregon, a team that was undefeated and earned a berth in the
BCS National Championship Game. The first 11 win season in program history earned the Cardinal a No. 4 BCS ranking and a BCS bowl invitation to the
Orange Bowl. Stanford defeated
Virginia Tech 40–12 for the Cardinal's first bowl win since 1996 and the first BCS bowl victory in program history. Second year starting quarterback
Andrew Luck was the runner-up to for the Heisman Trophy, the second year in a row that the runner-up was from Stanford. Harbaugh's 4-year record at Stanford was 29–21 (.580). Harbaugh was named the winner of the
Woody Hayes Coach of the Year Award.
David Shaw era (2011–2022) After Harbaugh left to coach the
San Francisco 49ers, the team's
offensive coordinator David Shaw became head coach. Shaw led the team to three consecutive BCS bowl games, including two Rose Bowls. The team was led by its quarterback, Andrew Luck, and its dominating defense. After Luck departed for the
NFL draft,
Kevin Hogan became the team's starting quarterback. Hogan led the team to a
Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. The team returned to the Rose Bowl again the following year in the 2013 season, but lost a
heart-breaker to
Michigan State. After a
rebuilding season in 2014, the
2015 season saw Shaw, Hogan, and Heisman runner up
Christian McCaffrey lead Stanford to its third Pac-12 championship in four years, and consequently, its third
Rose Bowl in four years. With the 2015 conference title, Shaw became the first Stanford coach in 80 years to win three conference titles and only the third ever in program history (after
Tiny Thornhill from 1933 to 1935 and
Pop Warner in 1924, 1926, and 1927). In 2017, Shaw once again led Stanford to a
Pac-12 Championship appearance with Heisman runner up
Bryce Love only to lose to rival
USC. After two consecutive 3–9 seasons, Shaw resigned as head coach, effective immediately, on November 27, 2022, just over an hour after the end of Stanford's last game of the
2022 season.
Troy Taylor era (2023–2024) Former
Sacramento State football coach
Troy Taylor was named the 35th head football coach in Stanford history on December 10, 2022. Taylor graduated at archrival Cal and served as an assistant coach there from 1996 to 1999 and as a radio color analyst from 2005 to 2011. Prior to Sacramento State, he was offensive coordinator at
Utah and
Eastern Washington. Taylor's tenure began with a win against Hawaii, but was followed up with four consecutive losses against USC, Taylor's previous school Sacramento State, Arizona, and Oregon. After staging a 29-point comeback against
Deion Sanders' led
Colorado, the fourth biggest comeback in Pac-12 history, the Cardinal proceeded to lose all but one of its remaining games, beating Washington State and losing to UCLA, Washington, Oregon State, Cal, and Notre Dame. Stanford finished 129th out of 130 teams in points allowed (37.2), yards allowed (461.7), and passing yards allowed (298), and finished 110th in points (20.6) and 92nd in yards (351.4). They were the only team in FBS without a home win and lost five games by 33 points or more. Taylor was fired on March 25, 2025, following back to back 3–9 seasons, and an investigation into alleged bullying of members of the Stanford athletic department.
Frank Reich season (2025) On March 31, 2025, Stanford hired former
Indianapolis Colts and
Carolina Panthers head coach
Frank Reich as their interim head coach for the
2025 season.
Tavita Pritchard era (2026–present) On November 28, 2025, Stanford hired former Cardinal QB and current
Washington Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard as permanent head coach. Prior to Washington, Pritchard coached at Stanford and was teammate of general manager
Andrew Luck in 2008 and 2009. ==Conference affiliations==