Stanford hires former USC starter, Oregon assistant Viane Talamaivo to coaching staff

Troy Taylor is continuing to add interesting coaches to his Stanford staff.

According to On3’s Matt Zenitz, Viane Talamaivao is joining the Cardinal as their offensive line coach, reported on Monday afternoon.

“Stanford is expected to hire Viane Talamaivao as offensive line coach, sources tell @On3sports,” tweeted Zenitz. “Talamaivao, a former USC starting offensive lineman, had recently been hired at Northern Arizona after serving as an Oregon graduate assistant last season.”

As Zenitz mentioned, Talamaivao knows the Pac-12 well, a former offensive lineman at USC and graduate assistant at Oregon. Before taking the job at Stanford, he was recently hired at Northern Arizona.

Now, Troy Taylor is giving Viane Talamaivao a chance to join his staff, and the Cardinal is happy to have him.

More on Stanford Cardinals, hire of Troy Taylor

Moreover, Stanford hired former Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor to replace David Shaw earlier this offseason. Taylor had been with Sacramento State since 2019 and totaled a 30-8 record with the Hornets. By taking over at Stanford, he’ll be returning to the Pac-12.

From 2017-18, Taylor served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utah. The Utes averaged 29.5 and 28.1 points per game, respectively, during Taylor’s two years with the program. He also played college football at Cal and worked with the Golden Bears as an assistant from 1996-2000. The Stanford job will be his first FBS head coaching opportunity.

Stanford went 3-9 this year in the last year of Shaw’s tenure. He resigned following the season, and the Cardinal embarked on a search that included Jason Garrett. Although the latter interviewed for the job, the former Dallas Cowboys coach opted to stay at NBC, where he serves as an analyst.

“Thanks so much to AD Bernard Muir and everyone at Stanford!” Garrett tweeted late Thursday. “While I enjoyed exploring a great opportunity at such a special place, I’m so excited to continue my work at NBC on Football Night in America and with Notre DameFootball!”

David Shaw took over at Stanford in 2011 after Jim Harbaugh departed for the San Francisco 49ers. During his time with the Cardinal, he amassed a 96-54 record, including a 65-40 mark in Pac-12 play. But the last few years didn’t go well for Stanford as the Cardinal went 14-28 overall, including back-to-back 3-9 seasons.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.