Stanford Football Finalizes Hiring of Three New Staff Members

Dylan Grausz | Aug 18, 2024

Nov 20, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; General view of the Stanford Cardinal helmet during the third quarter against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The end of Stanford football training camp and the start of the regular season is near with the final nooks and crannies being ironed out ahead of the first game of the new campaign. As things continue to get hammered out in terms of the roster, the coaching staff continued to also sort itself out as the Cardinal officially welcomed three new members to their staff, adding former players Jordan Richards, Tank Williams and Jordan Watkins in various roles.

Richards, a Super Bowl LI champion with the New England Patriots, came back to Palo Alto in May where he will take on the role as Coordinator of Football Operations and Player Development where he will be in charge of getting players prepared for life after football. Playing at Stanford from 2011-2014 and earning First-team All-Pac-12 honors for his strong 2014 season, Richard played a pivotal role for the Cardinal defense that helped the team win the 2013 Rose Bowl over Wisconsin. Selected in the second round of the 2015 draft, he spent four nonconsecutive seasons with the New England Patriots while also playing for the Falcons, Raiders and Ravens.

Hired in July, Williams returns after spending 1998-2001 with Stanford as a safety, earning First-team All-American honors and All-Pac-10 honors for his performance in 2001, and was drafted in the second round of the 2002 draft by the Tennessee Titans, spending four seasons there before playing two seasons with the Vikings and two with the Patriots. His official role this season will be Defensive Quality Control Analyst, but he will work with the safeties and will play a big part in coaching up that position group.

A major contributor on the Cardinal defensive line from 2012-2016, Watkins was brought on in April to be the Assistant Director of Recruiting Operations and will add strong knowledge to the recruiting department. As a Cardinal, Watkins won the Rose Bowl in both 2012 and 2015 and became an every down player in 2016, when he started in every single game. Broadcasting baseball and softball games for the Pac-12 Network, Watkins has maintained his close connection to the school long after he has left.

Kickoff for the season is on August 30, when the Cardinal host TCU in what will be the start of the new era of Stanford sports. Finishing 3-9 in their final season in the Pac-12, the quest to get back to the glory days will soon begin.