By JAKE FENNER

Stanford University has fired head football coach Troy Taylor less than a week after reports revealed a pattern of hostile behavior toward female colleagues in the workplace.

Last week, a report from ESPN revealed that Taylor was being investigated due to his ‘bullying’ and ‘belittling’ of female staff members.

Now, Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck – the former star quarterback of the Cardinal – has made the decision to move on from Taylor.

‘It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change,’ Luck said in a statement provided to The Athletic. 

‘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.’

Luck says that a coaching search has already begun and said that an acting coach may have to be named for the 2025 season. 

The school commissioned investigations in both 2023 and 2024 after multiple employees filed official complaints regarding his behavior.

Several of these complaints stated that Taylor showed ‘aggressive and hostile behavior’ toward his colleagues, most of whom were women.

Both of these investigations determined the coach’s behavior was ‘inconsistent with the standards’ of the university. 

However, despite being warned by a letter from the institution after the first investigation – which included the acknowledgement that he could be fired if his behavior didn’t change – he continued to be employed up until Tuesday. 

A person briefed on the decision said (via The Athletic) Taylor received ‘significant disciplinary action’ after the conclusion of the second investigation. This included a financial penalty and workplace training.

Luck had not joined the program at the time that decision had been made.

After the ESPN report had been published, Taylor released a statement, saying, ‘I willingly complied with the investigations, accepted the recommendations that came out of them, and used them as a learning opportunity to grow in leadership and how I interact with others.’

‘I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and collegially with my colleagues so that we can achieve success for our football program together.’

Taylor took over after David Shaw resigned following 12 seasons in charge of the Cardinal – in which Shaw became the winningest head coach in program history.

In contrast, Taylor went 3-9 in his two seasons at the helm – including last season, the school’s first in the ACC. 

MORE TO FOLLOW. 

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Stanford fires coach Troy Taylor after accusations of bullying female colleagues

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