{"id":411572,"date":"2025-11-28T23:06:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T23:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/411572\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T23:06:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T23:06:29","slug":"tavita-pritchard-named-bradford-m-freeman-director-of-football-stanford-cardinal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/411572\/","title":{"rendered":"Tavita Pritchard Named Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football – Stanford Cardinal"},"content":{"rendered":"

STANFORD, Calif. \u2013 <\/strong>Tavita Pritchard<\/a> has been named Stanford\u2019s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football as announced Friday by General Manager Andrew Luck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 37th head coach in program history, Pritchard, a 2009 graduate of Stanford, currently serves as the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders and will start in his role immediately following the Commanders\u2019 Nov. 30 game against Denver. Pritchard will be introduced at a press conference on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning in college football today requires a leader of men who can build and motivate teams, recruit future stars, and develop and connect with talent,\u201d said Luck. \u201cTavita Pritchard<\/a> 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\u2019s student-athletes. I could not be more excited to welcome Tavita, Caroline and their family back to campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStanford is a place like no other and my family and I are full of gratitude to be returning home in every sense of the word,\u201d said Pritchard. \u201cI have a clear vision of the hard work, brotherhood and tenacity it will take to build a championship Stanford football program. I cannot wait to partner with Andrew and begin working with the best student-athletes in the world to achieve excellence on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pritchard is completing his third season as quarterbacks coach of the Commanders, having mentored Jayden Daniels, Jacoby Brissett, Sam Howell and Marcus Mariota. During his tenure with Washington, Pritchard played a major role in developing the Commanders\u2019 offense, highlighted by an appearance in the 2024 NFC Championship Game. Pritchard returns to The Farm in the spirit of Stanford\u2019s rich legacy of NFL coaching talent, including Bill Walsh, Denny Green, Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw<\/a> and Vic Fangio.<\/p>\n

Pritchard guided Daniels, the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, through one of the most impressive rookie seasons in NFL history in 2024, as Daniels was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, qualified for the Pro Bowl and established multiple records in his debut. Daniels, who totaled 3,568 yards, 25 passing touchdowns and a 69.0 percent completion rate, finished the season with a combined 31 touchdowns, which ranks third all-time for a rookie quarterback in NFL history.<\/p>\n

\u201cTavita will be a fantastic head coach, and I believe he will be especially effective at Stanford,\u201d said Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, who is in his second season with the organization. \u201cPlayers gravitate to him, and he quickly earned their respect and mine. Tavita is smart, collaborative, diligent and he brings people together. He is the perfect coach to build a winning program in today\u2019s college football landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had a son playing college football, I\u2019d want him to play for Tavita Pritchard<\/a>,\u201d said Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. \u201cTavita has a unique ability to build relationships, and I\u2019ve never seen a quarterback room as tight and unified as the one he has molded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m playing the best football of my career, and Tavita is helping make that possible,\u201d said Washington quarterback Marcus Mariota. \u201cHis weekly process and preparation are elite. Tavita understands exactly what each team member needs, and he breathes confidence into us. Tavita\u2019s connection with players is second to none, and his demeanor sets the tone. He lets you play free and genuinely wants players to be the best versions of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pritchard replaces Frank Reich<\/a>, who has guided Stanford to its highest win total in five seasons as the interim head coach in 2025. Reich, who combined a 14-year playing career as an NFL quarterback with 18 seasons in various coaching roles, will remain as a senior advisor to Pritchard moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so grateful to have served as interim coach at Stanford,\u201d said Reich, a member of six Super Bowl teams overall as either a coach or player. \u201cI believe Tavita is the perfect builder to help continue Stanford\u2019s mission of success. I am proud to continue to work closely with Stanford Football and am eager to support Tavita in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the NFL, Pritchard played quarterback at Stanford from 2006-09, where he appeared in 31 games and made 20 starts, throwing for 2,865 yards and 15 touchdowns. Pritchard made his first career start on Oct. 6, 2007, against USC, engineering one of the biggest upsets in college football history with a 24-23 win over No. 2 USC when the Cardinal was a 41-point underdog. Pritchard\u2019s game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford<\/a> on fourth down with 49 seconds remaining in regulation secured his spot in Stanford football lore.<\/p>\n

Following his graduation, Pritchard began a lengthy coaching career with the Cardinal, serving in a variety of roles during a stretch that featured 10 consecutive bowl games, nine straight Big Game victories and appearances in three Rose Bowls (2013-14, 2016), Fiesta Bowl (2012) and Orange Bowl (2011). After joining the staff as a graduate assistant in 2010, Pritchard served as defensive assistant (2011-12) and running backs coach (2013).<\/p>\n

Pritchard was promoted to the role of quarterbacks\/wide receivers coach in 2014-17, coaching quarterback Kevin Hogan<\/a> as the Cardinal ended the season with dominant victories over USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game and Iowa in the Rose Bowl. From 2018-22, Pritchard was elevated to serve as the Andrew Luck<\/a> Director of Offense and Kevin M. Hogan Quarterbacks Coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting the chance to work with Tavita again in Washington has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my career,\u201d said Commanders\u2019 tight end and Stanford\u2019s 2012 unanimous first-team All-American Zach Ertz<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve seen firsthand how much Tavita has grown since we were together at Stanford \u2013 as a coach, as a leader and as a person. He connects with players at every level and brings out the best in everyone around him. I have full confidence that he and Andrew will build a Stanford football program that every former player, every alum and the entire Stanford community will be incredibly proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The selection of Pritchard as the Cardinal\u2019s head coach is the latest in a series of important steps to help launch a new winning era. Stanford University President Jonathan Levin appointed Luck as the program\u2019s general manager on Nov. 30, 2024, and Luck has already helped raise more than $100 million \u2013 anchored by a generous $50 million gift from football alumnus Bradford M. Freeman \u201964.<\/p>\n

\u201cTavita Pritchard<\/a> is the next important piece in our comprehensive effort to restore Stanford football to a winning tradition,\u201d said Stanford\u2019s Jaquish & Kenninger Director and Chair of Athletics John Donahoe, who began his tenure on Sept. 8, 2025, after serving as former CEO of NIKE, eBay and ServiceNow. \u201cTavita is an exceptional leader and his appointment, coupled with the strong fundraising success we are experiencing, will help build the foundation for our success and leadership in football.\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Tacoma, Washington, Pritchard earned a communication degree from Stanford. He and his wife, Caroline, met as undergraduates and have four children, three of whom were born at Stanford Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STANFORD, Calif. \u2013 Tavita Pritchard has been named Stanford\u2019s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football as announced Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":411573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,62,63443,176981,1366,3972,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-411572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-stanford","14":"tag-stanford-athletics","15":"tag-stanford-cardinal","16":"tag-stanford-university","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115629836439532338","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}