David Shaw (American football)

Early life and playing career

Shaw was born in San Diego, California and moved with his family around the country following his father Willie's career as an NFL coach. Shaw played high school football at Rochester Adams High School in Rochester Hills, Michigan while his father coached for the Detroit Lions.

In 1989, Willie accepted a coaching job at Stanford University and the family moved back to the Bay Area where David ultimately graduated from James Logan High School in Union City, California.

He went on to attend Stanford University, where he played college football as a wide receiver under head coaches Dennis Green and Bill Walsh. In his college career from 1991 to 1994, Shaw caught 57 passes for 664 yards and scored five touchdowns. Shaw was also on the Stanford men's basketball and track teams while at the University before earning a B.A. in sociology in 1995.

NFL assistant coach

His coaching career began at Western Washington University in 1995. In 1997, Shaw began a nine-year run as an NFL assistant coach with stints for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens.

As the Raiders' quality control from 1998–2000 and quarterbacks coach in 2001, the team won two consecutive AFC West titles and completed a 10–6 regular season.

Shaw was the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2002–2004 and wide receivers coach for the Ravens from 2002–2005, with the 2003 team finishing with a 10–6 regular season mark and winning the AFC North. In 2005, Shaw coached wide receivers Derrick Mason to a Ravens record of 86 receptions and 1,073 receiving yards (the third-highest Baltimore record) and Mark Clayton to a Ravens rookie record of 44 receptions for 471 yards.

College assistant coach

In 2006, Shaw left the NFL for the University of San Diego to join head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff as passing game coordinator. The 11–1 Toreros' offense led the NCAA Division I-AA in many statistical categories, including passing offense (293.3 ypg), total offense (494.25 ypg), and scoring offense (42.83 ppg).

When Harbaugh was hired as head coach of Shaw's alma mater, Stanford, in 2007, he brought Shaw as offensive coordinator. During his years as an assistant coach, Shaw also coached the Cardinal wide receivers and running backs.

Shaw's unit performed successfully during his years as coordinator, powered by 2010 Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck. They scored at least 40 points in 11 different games with Shaw as offensive coordinator, including 10 times in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The Cardinal achieved a school-record 461 points in 2009 and broke the record again the following season with 524 points.

Despite the graduation of 2009 Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart, during Stanford's 2010 season when Shaw took over as running backs coach, the Cardinal running game was second in the conference and 17th in the nation with an average of 213.77 yards and a total of 2,779 yards, Stanford's second-highest rushing total ever.

Stanford head coach

In January 2011, Shaw was promoted to head coach after Harbaugh left to become head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Shaw is the first Stanford alumnus to serve as head football coach since Paul Wiggin, who coached Stanford from 1980–1983.

In his first three seasons, Shaw led the team to three consecutive BCS bowl games, including two Rose Bowls. Shaw led the team to a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. The team returned to the Rose Bowl again the following year in the 2013 season, but lost a heart-breaker to Michigan State.

After a rebuilding season in 2014, the 2015 season saw Shaw lead Stanford to its third Pac-12 championship in four years, and consequently, its third Rose Bowl in four years, which the team won 45–16 over the Iowa Hawkeyes. With the 2015 conference title, Shaw became the first Stanford coach in 80 years to win three conference titles and only the third ever in program history (after Tiny Thornhill from 1933–1935 and Pop Warner in 1924, 1926, and 1927). With the Rose Bowl victory over Iowa, Shaw became only the second Stanford coach to win two Rose Bowls (after John Ralston who won the 1971 and 1972 Rose Bowls). That victory also resulted in Stanford being ranked #3 in the final Coaches Poll, their highest final ranking in the history of that poll. They were similarly ranked #3 in the final AP Poll, their highest final ranking in 75 years, following the 1940 national championship season.

Personal life

Shaw and his wife Kori have three children. His father, Willie, was a Stanford assistant coach under Jack Christiansen from 1974–1976 and Dennis Green from 1989–1991, and an NFL assistant coach in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and St. Louis Rams. Willie Shaw was a finalist for Stanford's head football coach position in 1992 that eventually went to Bill Walsh (and which would go to David Shaw in 2011).

Coaching tree

Among Shaw's assistant coaches who have later become head coaches at the NCAA Division I level: