The Stanford Cardinal just got done winning another Pac-12 championship and another Rose Bowl. The dominating fashion in which it did both had sparked plenty of interest (again) in head coach David Shaw from NFL teams.
But apparently, that interest was not enough to sway Shaw from the potential dynasty he is building in Palo Alto. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport is reporting Shaw has already made his mind up and won’t be listening to NFL offers at this time.
#Stanford coach David Shaw is a top college coaches coveted by @NFL teams. He plans to stay & openings in SF & (likely) Indy won't change it
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2016
Unlike most college head coaches, Shaw has a mixed football pedigree, spending plenty of time as an NFL offensive assistant coach before heading to the college route. Shaw performed various roles with the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, and San Diego Chargers for 10 years before latching on as San Diego’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach under Jim Harbaugh in 2006.
Apparently, Shaw sees the Stanford job not just a stepping stone to come back to the professional ranks, but as a career path for himself.
Shaw took over at Stanford after Harbaugh left for the San Francisco 49ers job 2011. Before that he was an assistant for Harbaugh with the Cardinal from 2007 to 2010. He was the offensive coordinator with a additional role as wide receivers coach and running backs coach.
His Cardinal have been one of the most consistent teams in the Pac-12 since his tenure started in 2011. Since that time, Shaw’s Cardinal have won four of five Pac-12 North championships and have won three Pac-12 championships while Shaw himself has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year three times, including in 2015.
Additionally, Stanford have gone on to play in three Rose Bowls and a Fiesta Bowl in his time. He holds a 2-2 record in those big bowl games and a 3-2 overall bowl game record. Stanford will also finish within the Top 10 of the AP poll in four of the five years he has been at the helm.
It all adds up to a big resume that should be very attractive to NFL teams.
However, Shaw is also likely aware of past NFL failures of very successful college football coaches like Nick Saban and the recently fired Chip Kelly. There’s even Jim Mora, Jr., who is currently the head coach at UCLA after failing at the NFL level before heading the college route.
It may just be a matter of time for Shaw, but clearly that time is not now.
