Terry Heffernan returns to Stanford as the Andrew Luck Director of Offense, with his first season back on staff in 2026.
Heffernan returns to The Farm after spending the previous three seasons on the Virginia Cavaliers staff, where he served as the team’s offensive line coach for three seasons. He was also the team’s run game coordinator during his final two years on Grounds.
Heffernan helped the Cavaliers finish the season 11-3, the most wins in program history. Virginia appeared in the ACC championship game and won the 2025 Gator Bowl over No. 25 Missouri, the program’s ninth bowl game win and first since 2019.
Much of the team’s offensive success came on the ground, as Virginia finished 2025 averaging 178.7 rushing yards per game and 29 rushing touchdowns, the team’s most in both categories since 2004. J’Mari Taylor was named First Team All-ACC after finishing second in the ACC in rushing yards (1,062) and touchdowns (14).
Across two years as the Cavaliers run game coordinator, the Cavaliers improved by over 60 rushing yards per game and went from just 12 touchdowns in 2023 to 29 in 2025.
Heffernan’s offensive linemen were stellar in 2025 for Virginia, allowing just 18 sacks in 14 games, the team’s fewest number of sacks allowed since 2014, fourth-fewest in the ACC. Three offensive linemen were named to the All-ACC team, with center Brady Wilson earning Second Team honors, and McKale Boley and Noah Josey earning Third Team honors.
Virginia’s offense was among the best in recent Cavaliers history during its historic 2025 season. It was just the fourth time in the last two decades that Virginia averaged over 400 yards of total offense per game, and the team’s 30.7 points per game is tied for the seventh most in a single season in program history.
Over the span of three seasons coaching the Virginia offensive line, Heffernan oversaw five All-ACC honorees, including Brian Stevens, who was twice named to the All-ACC team at center after transferring to the Cavaliers from Dayton.
No stranger to Stanford, Heffernan was the offensive line coach for the Cardinal from 2021-22. During his first stint on The Farm, Branson Bragg and Drake Nugent earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors under Heffernan’s tutelage.
Heffernan came to Stanford following two years with the Buffalo Bills as an assistant offensive line coach, helping them to the AFC Championship Game during the 2020 season, the team’s first AFC title game appearance since 1993. In total, he has five years of NFL coaching experience, having spent three seasons (2013-15) with the Detroit Lions as an assistant offensive line coach and offensive quality control coach.
Heffernan also has 17 years of collegiate coaching experience including his first stint at Stanford. He served as Eastern Kentucky’s assistant head coach and offensive line coach in 2016-17, before a promotion to associate head coach and offensive line coach in 2018.
Prior to his time with the Lions, Heffernan spent six seasons at Wayne State. The first five, he was the offensive line coach before moving to offensive coordinator in 2012.
Before his time at Wayne State, he served as a graduate assistant coach at both Louisville (2004-05) and Michigan (2005-07).
Heffernan graduated from Dayton with a degree in communications in 2003 and was a four-year football student-athlete, helping the Flyers capture four Pioneer Football League championships.
He and his wife, Jamie, have two sons, Connor and Casey, and a daughter, Regan.