David Shaw: What New Stanford Coach Means for Andrew Luck's BCS, Heisman Hopes
David Shaw is expected to be named the next head football coach at Stanford, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Shaw, a Stanford alum who has served as the Cardinal's offensive coordinator for the past four seasons, will take over for Jim Harbaugh, who left the school for the San Francisco 49ers last week.
The school will hold a press conference to introduce the 38-year-old Shaw later today.
So what does the hiring of Shaw mean for Stanford's football program?
How will it affect Andrew Luck's development as a quarterback or the school's chances of playing in another BCS game?
Well, here are 10 effects that the hiring of Shaw will have on Stanford football.
10. Help Blur the Racial Divide and Draw Recruits
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The NCAA has a clear and distinguishable gap between the number of white and African-American head coaches at the FBS level.
With the hiring of David Shaw, Stanford is doing a great thing for the future of black coaches, especially at elite academic institutions.
His hiring is not only good for Stanford football but is also a step in the right direction for one of the premier football programs in the country, which have historically shied away from hiring African-American head coaches.
Stanford's decision to appoint Shaw as head coach could help draw even more recruits to a Cardinal program that has the No. 17 recruiting class for 2011 according to ESPN.
9. Bring a Wealth of Experience to the Head Coaching Position
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This isn't meant to be a knock on Jim Harbaugh at all, so don't take it that way.
But David Shaw does bring a plethora of experience to the table at Stanford.
He was an assistant on Harbaugh's staff at San Diego, he worked as an assistant at Western Washington, and he's spent time as NFL assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens.
Shaw may be only 38 years old, but his football knowledge can't be denied.
8. Shaw Eases the Loss of Harbaugh
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Given David Shaw's past history with Jim Harbaugh, it's almost as if Harbaugh passed the torch to Shaw, so to speak.
Shaw has been a member of Harbaugh's coaching staffs for the last seven years, so he's not just some random replacement.
He's like an understudy in a play who's done much of what the star (Harbaugh) has done but just hasn't gotten the recognition.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. No Need For a New System
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Had Stanford brought in a new coach from outside the school, the Cardinal likely would have transitioned to a new offensive philosophy, a new defensive scheme, etc.
But by staying in-house with David Shaw, there's no "Rich Rodriguez period," where it takes three years to match the players with the system.
The players are already at Stanford, the system is intact and there'll be no second-guessing whether a certain player belongs at the school.
Right players in the right system generally translate to good results on the actual field of play.
6. Shaw's a Stanford Guy
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David Shaw was a wide receiver at Stanford from 1991-1994, and he's been a coach at his alma mater for the past four seasons.
Like Brady Hoke at Michigan, the Cardinal wanted to hire someone with Stanford roots.
Shaw fits that profile perfectly.
He is familiar with the area, the school, the recruiting grounds and everything else that often makes college football coaches successful.
At least on paper, Shaw and Stanford seem like a match made in heaven.
5. The Likely Departures of Greg Roman and Vic Fangio
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There were three in-house candidates considered for the Stanford head coaching job: David Shaw, Greg Roman and Vic Fangio.
Now that Shaw is in, however, it could mean that Roman and Fangio are out.
Both coaches have been rumored to be following Jim Harbaugh to San Francisco, while they've also been linked to other NFL assistant jobs.
If Fangio (the defensive coordinator) leaves, then Stanford could indeed be installing a new defensive system unless they promote from within the program again.
4. Another Top-Tier Offense
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With David Shaw serving as offensive coordinator, Stanford went from 4-8 in 2007 to 12-1 in 2010.
The Cardinal set the school's single-season scoring record in 2009 with 461 points, but they rewrote the record books again in 2010 with 524 points.
Who called the plays and ran the offense both of those years?
Oh yeah, it was David Shaw.
3. Shaw Is Well-Liked at Stanford
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The Stanford football program made the right decision in hiring David Shaw to be the next head coach.
Why? Even the players wanted him as Jim Harbaugh's replacement.
He is incredibly popular amongst members of the Cardinal team, and the Mercury News reports that his hiring will be "well received" by the school.
The players trust Shaw, and the people in power trust Shaw, which is a good sign for a rookie head coach.
2. Stanford vs. Oregon in the Pac-10 Again?
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There are a lot of question marks surrounding most Pac-10 (now Pac-12) teams, but the team to beat should once again be...Oregon.
They bring back a ton of explosive power on offense that should help them run through their conference schedule in 2011, with one exception: at Stanford.
The Cardinal's toughest game of the season will be at home this time around, and the winner of that game (and the new Pac-12 Championship Game) could once again be competing for a national title.
1. Give Andrew Luck Some Consistency
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Though Jim Harbaugh certainly played a pivotal role in Andrew Luck's development, we don't really know how much of Luck's success can be attributed to David Shaw.
What if Shaw's coaching had a bigger impact on Luck than Harbaugh's did?
If that's the case, then Stanford will be in good shape because Luck won't miss a beat.
He'll be playing in the same offense he has his entire career for essentially the same coach (Shaw), who will just have a different title in front of his name.
Luck should continue to succeed under Shaw's pro-style system, and when Luck succeeds, so does Stanford.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
