Frank Reich answered the phone on several occasions over the last year and a half, fielding overtures from various NFL franchises who saw him as a fit for their coaching staffs. None were the ideal fit for the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers.
Reich told his wife, Linda, that to even consider getting back into coaching, the checklist had to be top-heavy: It simply had to be the right person and the right place. So, after the Reichs watched the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIX in February, it provided them with a sense of closure. They opted for the next phase.
“We were moving on with our life,” Reich said.
A little more than a month later, Reich’s phone rang again. This time with a Hail Mary inquiry that he’d listen to in the halls of a Costco in Greensboro, N.C. On the other line was his former star quarterback. Suddenly, he was listening to former four-time Pro Bowler Andrew Luck, who pitched the 63-year-old Reich on a unique idea amid a tenuous situation.
Luck, who returned to his alma mater Stanford last November as the football program’s general manager, needed a short-term solution that he believed wouldn’t hinder the Cardinal’s 2025 season but could also serve as a buffer between eras. Luck announced last week that…
