Stanford coach Taylor amid Pac-12 collapse: ‘I can’t imagine’ playing outside Power 5

SAN FRANCISCO – When the Stanford football team walked off the field after practice Tuesday night, one of the players saw the assembled media and exclaimed, “We’re going Independent!”

He quickly clarified that he was joking, but it was a reference to the program’s uncertain future after five Pac-12 teams announced last week that they would leave the conference after the 2023-24 season, leaving Stanford, Cal, Washington State, and Oregon State as the only remaining members.

Cardinal coach Troy Taylor had no idea where the team would end up, but he was confident everything would work out.

“I have a lot of faith that Stanford has an incredible brand and that we’ll land somewhere really good,” Taylor said. “I’m just as excited as you guys to find out where it is.”

The football team’s reported options include joining an existing conference such as the ACC or Mountain West, remaining in the Pac-12 by adding teams, or going independent like Notre Dame.

Taylor stated that Stanford must remain a member of a major conference.

“The players who have committed to come here want to play Power 5 football, and that is our intention at this university,” Taylor explained. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

That could mean long flights to most road games, particularly in a conference like the ACC, but Taylor said he doesn’t mind.

“I’m okay with travel,” Taylor said. “If you have to travel a little more, that means they have to travel when they come play us.”

“In the past, people had to travel across the country in covered wagons. It would take a month, and by the time they arrived, they would be completely different people. It’s not the end of the world if we have to fly for five or six hours. Get yourself some drinks and snacks. It’s not so bad.”

Senior running back Casey Filkins, the 2019 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, expressed excitement about potentially playing his final Pac-12 games against two schools from his home state. He has observed much debate on social media and has learned to wait for official word from schools and conferences.

“It’s obviously a trip thinking about how college football was really starting to change, and you know, I think the NIL landscape obviously is a big area (of change),” he said. “And now, this conference realignment stuff, I still think it can look a lot different in five or ten years than it does now.”

EJ Smith, a senior who started ahead of Filkins before injury last year, said his focus is on what he can control.

“Pac 12 is just running wild, with everybody leaving and stuff like that,” he said. “But right now, I’m just focused on the season.”

So far, the uncertainty has had no effect on Stanford’s 2024 recruiting class, which is ranked 19th in the country by 247Sports. Nobody in the class has publicly reopened his recruitment.

“People want to know what’s going on, and I just tell them to be patient, and hopefully we’ll get somewhere,” Taylor said. “You know, I don’t have any answers for them right now.” But, as I previously stated, they trust the brand, which is why they chose Stanford, and I am confident that we will end up in a good place. It should have been in the Pac-12. I’m sorry to see that come to an end. But, as a coach and player, you know, you move quickly.”

Nonetheless, Taylor expressed disappointment that the Pac-12, with which he grew up, is no longer viable. Taylor was the all-time leading passer at Cal when he graduated in 1989, and he stayed on as an assistant coach for another four years. In 2017 and 2018, he was also the offensive coordinator at Utah.

But now is not the time for nostalgia. Stanford has no idea who it will play next year in a sport where games are scheduled ten years in advance.

Taylor stated that he is not involved in discussions about potential landing sites. Nonetheless, he hopes that the same qualities that drew him to Stanford as its head coach in December will be enough to entice a major conference.

“People know Stanford, they respect Stanford, and despite maybe a couple of mediocre rough years in football, Stanford’s been a really good football team in the past,” Taylor explained. “I believe that looking at the last couple of years is short-sighted. We’re going to have a fantastic football program. We’ll win championships in whatever conference we play in. And I believe people understand Stanford’s appeal, not just as a program, but also academically.”