Stanford football head coach Troy Taylor could be coaching for his job this week

A win would be a good step in the Cardinal having momentum for the offseason but what would a loss mean?

Nov 23, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor walks on the field before the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

This week marks the final game of the season for Stanford as soon, preparations begin for 2025 and figuring out how a once dominant program can return to prominence in a tough ACC. But first, the 3-8 Cardinal will hit the road one final time to face San Jose State in a game dubbed the Bill Walsh Legacy Game, looking to end their season on a high note. A win would mean everything for the Cardinal players and fans, but for the coaching staff, it could be what keeps them around for another year.

That is why it is very possible that Taylor could be coaching for his job when the Cardinal take the field on Friday afternoon, with a win being a step in the right direction in him getting another opportunity and a loss making his seat much much warmer following a second 3-9 season.

If Stanford is unable to pick up the win against the Spartans, it would mark the fourth straight season in which the program finishes 3-9, ending with that record in the final two years of the David Shaw era and in current head coach Troy Taylor’s first season in 2023. While one can make the argument that moving to a new conference in the midst of a rebuild can be attributed to the results this season, the lack of any real improvement over the last few years can create growing impatience.

While the Cardinal were expected to finish last in the ACC in the preseason polls and have done pretty much as expected, there have been a handful of instances where they have been in games until the end, only to falter and come up short. Against Wake Forest, the team was one drive away from winning the game before a costly turnover caused them to lose by three.

Against Cal, the Cardinal were at one point ahead 21-10, before late game struggles saw the Golden Bears score 14 unanswered points and storm back to take home the 24-21 win, extending Stanford’s losing streak against them to four. It is games like these that are more heartbreaking, with wins having been so close yet somehow slipping away.

However, there have also been instances in which the Cardinal have not looked competitive. After starting the year off 2-1, losing a close game to TCU before beating Cal Poly and Syracuse, the team then went on a long six game losing streak, with four straight blowout losses to Clemson (40-14), Virginia Tech (31-7), Notre Dame (49-7) and SMU (40-10).

While that fifth straight loss was that nail biter to Wake Forest, they then proceeded to fall 59-28 to NC State, falling behind early before the Wolfpack ran away with the game in the second half. Being competitive in games can go a long way towards finding hope even in a down year, but when games like that see the results that they do, questions can rise as to whether or not the team can compete with these top programs.

Taylor’s tenure has shown a lot of signs of promise, with strong recruiting classes that have seen those freshmen contribute right away as well as bringing in some key transfers. But at the end of the day, results are what matter and with the possibility of seeing yet another season without steady growth, changes could be coming to The Farm yet again.