David Shaw's seat viewed as one of the hottest in college football
The way that David Shaw handled the passing of the baton from Jim Harbaugh was quite simply amazing.
He helped the program reach new highs, winning three Pac-12 Championships while also making four New Year's Six bowl games, winning two. It seemed that he had a perfect understanding of how to best handle what could be considered one of the more difficult jobs at the Power 5 level.
From the span of 2011-2018, Shaw had Stanford consistently playing as one of the best programs in the country winning double digit games five times. For reference, his "worst" season being 2014 when they finished 8-5. Many programs around the country would love their worst year to consist of wining eight games, but that was just the level of prestige Stanford had under Shaw in the early years. However, that sparkle or wow factor that Stanford once had, is gone.
Since 2019, the Cardinal have failed to have a winning season outside of the COVID-19 year, and to be frank, seems like they are well on their way to continuing that horrendous stretch this year. The team has lost four straight, with three of the losses coming by double digit deficits. The same issues continue to plague the program, as they have struggled with injuries, development, and there seems to be a reluctancy to modify schemes.
While Shaw seems to be a great guy who has support from administration due to past success, it is understandable why outlets such as DraftKings are putting him on the hot seat. They believe that Stanford along with Auburn and USF will be the next programs to make a coaching change saying:
At some point, the consistency Shaw showed early in his tenure won’t be enough. The Cardinal collapsed in the fourth quarter against Oregon State, giving up 18 points in a 28-27 loss. If Stanford hopes to compete in this new age of college football, it can’t lean on the previous model for success. Shaw has to adapt, and right now it’s not looking too good for him.
The program is in a tough place right now, because you could either just let Shaw coach the season out and insist he makes coordinator changes, wait until the end of the year to fire him but you may miss on one of the top candidates, or you fire him in the coming weeks. Regardless of what happens, something needs to change. I do think that he will get a chance to change the staff because of his rapport, but if Stanford continues to struggle with all the talent they have, I'm not sure if the administration will give him that chance.
These next few weeks and how competitive the team looks could end up being a huge factor in the decision.
