Stanford football shakeup closely mirrors SF Giants hiring Buster Posey

Stanford's football program recently announced that former quarterback Andrew Luck would be taking on a new role as the general manager of the football program. This move closely mirrors the SF Giants deciding to bring back Buster Posey.

After years of disappointment on the field, a sports program turns to a legendary player who reminds fans of the Glory Days to turn things around from the front office. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

Andrew Luck hire mirrors the SF Giants hiring Buster Posey

Luck was a star quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal from 2008 to 2011. He won the Orange Bowl in 2010 and in 2011 he led the Cardinal to the Fiesta Bowl and finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy both seasons. He went on to have a successful career in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts before he shocked everyone by retiring at the age of 29 due to injury concerns and for personal reasons. He had just come off a great season in which he had won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Similarly, Posey retired at the age of 34 after a resurgent 2021 campaign that saw him win NL Comeback Player of the Year. Posey's reasoning was that the wear and tear on his body was too much to deal with. Like Luck, he left the game before his abilities truly deteriorated. Both could easily still be playing at a high level right now in their respective sports.

Instead, both men are now tasked with restoring the success their teams enjoyed when they were players. Stanford has not had a winning season or bowl game appearance since 2018. The Giants have only made the playoffs twice since their 2014 World Series championship and the last time they made the playoffs was in 2021, when Posey was still a player.

It remains to be seen whether Posey and Luck can be successful. Stanford currently sits at 3-9 after their loss to San Jose State and the Giants are coming off three straight seasons of middling baseball so they have their work cut out for them. Both are obviously smart and intelligent men who know their respective sports well, but it will take more than that to turn things around.

Both are going to have to acquire a lot of talent to turn things around, but they will certainly have more patience from fans than a brand new face would. The fact that both were largely responsible for the last periods of success for their respective teams will give them a credibility with the fanbase that few in their position could ever have.

However, if the path to competitiveness takes longer than fans are willing to tolerate, that grace period they are likely to receive at the start of their tenures will begin to wear off as patience wears thin. It will be interesting to compare how each will fare in their new role especially with them starting so close to one another and both being in the Bay Area.