Stanford head coach Tavita Pritchard makes hires at DC, OL, and DL
Stanford head coach Tavita Pritchard continues to round out his coaching staff: Longtime NFL defensive backs coach Kris Richard is coming on board as defensive coordinator, most recently serving as defensive backs coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2024). Jaguars assistant offensive line coach and run game specialist Keli’i Kekuewa is coming on board as offensive line coach and then Alabama assistant defensive line coach Jamey Mosley is coming on board as the new defensive line coach. All three positions have been confirmed to Cardinal Sports Report and previously reported on the message board.
Richard has spent a lot of time in the NFL as a defensive backs coach, playing four years at USC at the cornerback position (1998-2001), getting drafted in the 3rd round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He brings a lot of experience from both the college and NFL ranks. From 2015-2017, he was defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, so he’s done this before. That’s something that should serve him well.
As for Kekuewa, he brings NFL experience with stops at Seattle, Carolina, and Jacksonville from 2020 to 2025. All of those roles have been assistant offensive line/run game coordinator type roles. He previously was coaching in the college ranks at Wake Forest, Minnesota, Henderson State, and Notre Dame. He also played two years at Bowling Green. So, he has college experience on top of NFL experience.
Ending with Mosley, he played linebacker at Alabama, winning two national championships in 2015 and 2017. He went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent a couple years on the practice squad with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals before moving on to coaching. Most recently, he was an assistant defensive line coach with the Crimson Tide, so he returned to his alma mater. His championship experience at Alabama is something that should inspire the players.
All in all, all three of these hires seem like good ones for Stanford. These guys bring a nice blend of college and NFL experience. That’s something that should serve them well. Touching more on Richard, it will be really interesting to see how the defense takes shape under his coaching and what kind of identity they build under him. The defense did a lot of good things last year, especially in the red zone. Inside linebackers coach Andy Thompson was co-defensive coordinator last year and should be able to offer some valuable input. How much of Thompson’s scheme stays in place and how much will be new stuff that Richard implements is something that we’ll find out in the coming months.
Note: Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on Stanford as they begin the Tavita Pritchard era.
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