Inside The Huskies

Bob Gregory Joins New Stanford Coaching Staff

The former UW interim coach and defensive coordinator will guide the Cardinal safeties and special teams.

Dan Raley

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Bob Gregory, the former University of Washington defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and interim head coach in 2021, has joined Troy Taylor's new Stanford staff, sending him into a 36th consecutive year of college football coaching.

He will serve as safeties coach and special-teams coordinator as they try to rebuild a Cardinal program that sank to a 3-9 record last season, causing coach David Shaw to resign.

Gregory comes off a season spent at Oregon, where he was a defensive analyst.

After playing linebacker and safety for Washington State in 1084-87, this Spokane product joins his fifth Pac-12 football program. Besides the aforementioned conference schools, he also served as a defensive coordinator at California. 

Faced with coaching the Huskies in the Apple Cup against his alma mater, Gregory had a memorable explanation for how he handles prioritizing allegiances.

"We're all mercenaries anyways as coaches," he said. "Whoever pays us and puts food on the table for our kids, that's who we're rooting for."

Gregory coached at Washington for eight seasons, beginning with Chris Petersen's staff, carrying over to Jimmy Lake's group and being asked to step in as interim coach for the final three Husky games in 2021 once Lake got fired during that 4-8 season. 

He actually served as an interim coach for a bowl game at Boise State in 2013, replacing Petersen after the latter took the Washington job left vacant by Steve Sarkisian. 

"As a veteran of the Pac-12, I've seen first-hand how Stanford can attract the best student-athletes in the country and win at the highest level," Gregory said after his late December hiring was announced. "I'm excited to be a part of getting this program back to that place. Both at the safety position and on our special teams units, I am going to be looking for guys who love football, and play with great heart and passion."

Gregory also coached special teams for five seasons for the Huskies, a group that included record-breaking returners Dante Pettis, who set a NCAA record for career punt runback touchdowns with nine, and John Ross.  

From 2002 to 2009, Gregory was Cal's defensive coordinator, which meant he previously was a Stanford rival for nearly a decade. 

Yes, according to him, always a coaching mercenary.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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