David Shaw, Is This the Final Ride?
Stanford Head Coach David Shaw’s place in both Stanford football and College Football lore is solidified. What he has done at Stanford is nothing short of incredible. As OC, he helped Jim Harbaugh take the Stanford Cardinal to new heights, culminating in the blowout win over Virginia Tech in the 2011 Orange Bowl, sealing a No. 4 ranking for the program. When Harbaugh and DC Vic Fangio left Stanford for the San Francisco 49ers, Shaw was given the task of guiding Stanford to new and consistent heights, a job he did incredibly well. Shaw had 8 straight winning seasons, secured Stanford’s first Pac-12 title since Tyrone Willingham, qualified for 4 NY6 games, winning the 2013 and 2016 Rose Bowl and 4 Top 10 finishes in the Coaches Poll. Shaw is the winningest HC in Stanford history and has helped send top talents like Andrew Luck, Christian McCaffery, Solomon Thomas, Zach Ertz, David DeCastro and Andrus Peat to the NFL. However in recent years, the well has run dry.
After a disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2021, capping off a third straight losing season, many have wondered why Shaw’s job security hasn’t been more of a pressing issue in the media. I think Stanford officials want to keep any issues in house in both respect for Shaw and privacy to both fund and conduct a short list of candidates. In this new era of college football, where Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, Mel Tucker, James Franklin, Kirby Smart and Lincoln Riley have penned 100+ million dollar deals, Stanford may be looking within to fund a changing of the guard.
Shaw is not at the gallows yet but in the ever changing landscape of college football, Stanford finds themselves in no man’s land. Partially handicapped by location in terms of a competitive market, they suffer at attracting top talent due to lack of recent success, NIL opportunities and academic requirements. However difficulty doesn’t mean understanding and fourth straight losing campaign could and should see Shaw’s time at Stanford end.
However just because things didn’t work out doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in the two time Rose Bowl champion. David Shaw is an incredible coach who plateaued. If he reignites the winning ways of the early 2010s, I have no issue keeping David Shaw. If it is his time, he should have endless Head Coaching possibilities. He’s a great recruiter, a great coach and a good man. He’s a great example for the young men of the world. Quite frankly, (this might be due to my distain for Chip Kelly) I think Shaw would be a perfect fit for the UCLA job. However there are many opportunities I would like to see get extended to Shaw. A job that may possibly be available that I think he’d be perfect for is the Florida State job. Disappointing tenures of Willie Taggart and Mike Norvell have left the Seminoles in ruin. Losing Travis Hunter to Jackson State is both a slap to the face of the brand that’s self-titled “DBU” and to those who questioned Deion Sanders resume when he was linked to the job.
Shaw would have no extra academic hurdles, a bigger market for both NIL and recruiting plus a schedule that guarantees both success and entry into the CFP with a solid resume compared to the Pac-12. Whatever happens, David Shaw is a legend who has a lot of football left to coach.
