Cardinal coach David Shaw made the announcement Friday. Anderson replaces Derek Mason, who left last week to become Vanderbilt's head coach.
Anderson has been on Stanford's staff the past seven seasons, including the past four as outside linebackers coach. Anderson also has been at the forefront of Stanford's remarkable recruiting turnaround, serving as the program's liaison to the admissions office.
Shaw said in a statement that Anderson's experience under previous defensive coordinators Vic Fangio and Mason ''will continue our defensive tradition of being aggressive, being physical and setting the tone for how we play football here at Stanford University.''
Anderson's official title will be the Willie Shaw Director of Defense, a position endowed after Shaw's father.
