Stanford brings ex-star QB Andrew Luck 'home' as new GM - ESPN

Former Stanford star quarterback Andrew Luck is returning to the Cardinal to become the football program's general manager, he told ESPN in a phone interview.

Luck, 35, has accepted a newly created role at Stanford, which will place him above the entire program and is a distinct evolution from the traditional college general manager role. The hire could loom as a harbinger for structural changes in college football front offices across the sport.

Luck's role involves everything Stanford football touches, football-wise and business-wise. The football-specific duties will include managing the coaching staff, the player personnel staff, recruiting, roster management and the student-athlete experience.

His business duties will include some aspects often associated with an NFL team president role: fundraising, sponsorships, attendance, sales, in-stadium experience and alumni relations.

«I'm excited,» Luck told ESPN. «I think Stanford is taking an assertive and innovative step. We're undoubtedly the best athletic department in college sports. We have to re-prove it in football, and we're excited to be part of that challenge.»

Stanford has endured five losing seasons over the past six years, and Luck's aim is to lock arms with second-year coach Troy Taylor to help build the program to reenter the national conversation. Taylor has expressed his excitement about the partnership with Luck and the chance to build alongside him.

Luck said the idea came up «organically» a month ago in a conversation with president Jonathan Levin. Luck is the most decorated Stanford player of the past generation; he twice finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and left the school after the 2011 season to become the No. 1 NFL draft pick. He