Andrew Luck had one of the most unique careers in NFL history and retired early at the age of 29. The reason was simple — he fell out of love with the game, which became more of an obligation and corruptive force in his life than a passion or joy.
Luck said of his decision that he needed to “remove himself from football.”
One of the league’s best players was gone just like that.
And he has rarely been seen in public since his retirement.
Luck has kept himself away from the media. Luck has kept his high-profile outings to a minimum.
The 34-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick just wants to live his life. It goes much deeper than that, but that is ultimately what it comes down to in terms of overarching ethos.
However, after nearly four years away from the sport all together (outside of a few pop-up appearances at a handful of games), Luck recently made his return to football. As a coach, this time.
Andrew Luck is back on the gridiron.
Palo Alto High School is located less than a mile from Stanford Stadium, where Luck saw back-to-back 10+ win seasons and top-10 finishes with the Cardinal. Its newest assistant coach is a local legend.
Luck moved back to the Bay Area last fall and is currently enrolled in a master’s program at his alma mater. Meanwhile, he is helping out with the nearby football program.
According to Alex Simon of The Mercury News, Luck is helping out Palo Alto at practice twice a week. Most of his time is spent with the quarterbacks — both on the J.V. and Varsity levels — but he has been doing a little bit of everything with everyone.
The players, who are grateful to learn from one of the all-time greats, have been impressed with Luck’s intelligence. He came in with no knowledge of the program or its system. That changed very quickly.
The first week he got here, we have our whole playbook and he walks in not knowing any of our plays. The next day he comes, he knew every single play. It was crazy — he knows everything about football.
— Palo Alto quarterback Declan Parker
Parker, a senior, completed 58% of his passes last season for 1,728 yards and 19 touchdowns in 13 games. His stats are even better in 2023.
Parker completed 66% of his passes for 637 yards and seven touchdowns in his first three games. Luck’s presence has surely helped in his big step forward!
Although Luck stepped away from football at the peak of his career, it seems as though he is starting to fall back in love with the sport that once brought him a lot of success. Now he hopes to translate his experience into something on which the younger generation can learn and grow. Pretty neat.