Stanford football needs 'reset,' fires football coach Troy Taylor - ESPN

Stanford fired football coach Troy Taylor, the school announced Tuesday.

The decision comes a week after ESPN reported that two outside firms had found Taylor bullied and belittled female athletic staffers, sought to have an NCAA compliance officer removed after she warned him of rules violations and repeatedly made «inappropriate» comments to another woman about her appearance.

«Since beginning my role as General Manager, I have been thoroughly assessing the entire Stanford football program. It has been clear that certain aspects of the program need change,» Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck said in a statement. «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. Coach Taylor has been informed today and the change is effective immediately."

It is unclear if the university will have to pay out the remainder of Taylor's contract.

In response to ESPN's report last week, Stanford said Taylor had complied with the investigations and was committed to improving his behavior. Sources told ESPN that Luck met with the team in Taylor's presence last Thursday and doubled down on his support for the coach.

A statement from Stanford Football General Manager Andrew Luck.