Does Stanford need to make a head coaching change?
After bringing Stanford's football program to new heights, David Shaw has now found himself in the midst of what could be his fourth losing season in five years.
A program in Stanford that once reigned supreme is now viewed as a bottom feeder in a conference that they once ruled on the regular. The Cardinal are licking their wounds after their latest loss, which saw them get absolutely embarrassed by Washington State 52-14. There have been clear signs of frustrations from the players on the field, so one can only imagine their frustrations behind closed doors.
The program's struggles have many discussing whether or not a change needs to be made, and Athlon Sports' Steve Godfrey is the latest to hop on the move on from David Shaw bus. At least, kind of. Godfrey detailed that despite Stanford's struggles, that Shaw will be the one that determines his own future saying:
It’s never been more difficult to compete as a “smart school” in the changing landscape of college football. Programs like Stanford are hamstrung in the transfer portal era, as admission standards can’t keep up with the free agency atmosphere building in the sport.The Cardinal were blown out by Wazzu 52-14 last weekend, their sixth loss in eight games that extends a 14-25 skid for David Shaw since the program’s last (non-Covid) winning season in 2018. Stanford hasn’t found a way to replicate their success developing skill position talent like Andrew Luck, Bryce Love, Kevin Hogan, and Christian McCaffery in recent seasons, and in the meantime, the Pac-12 North has become a more competitive division from top to bottom.
He continued saying:
Still, Shaw can write his ticket in Palo Alto after guiding the program to three conference titles, four New Year’s Day bowls, and winning the Rose twice. If a change happens here, it will be on Shaw’s terms, and given how many times he’s shrugged off other jobs, he’s almost certainly headed for some kind of leadership position on campus.
The program is in an extremely difficult situation when it comes to what to do with Shaw. Obviously the on field product has not been up to snuff as of late, but Shaw has managed to bring in talented recruiting classes over the past few seasons. He also is the most successful coach the program has ever seen. Maybe Shaw gets a chance to bring in a new staff, or maybe it is too late for that.
There has to have been a decision made behind close doors, at least in the process of making, because nothing in Stanford's last three games will show us anything different than we have already seen. This market of coaches is nowhere nears the caliber of last season, but there are some respectable young names out there Kenny Dillingham (Oregon OC), Garret Riley (TCU OC), or even Dan Mullen (former Florida coach) among others. The only issue Stanford has to now deal with, is the fact that if they do in fact chose to replace Shaw, finding a replacement to convince come to a school with no transfer portal access may be difficult. On the contrary, there is likely some untapped NIL deals that may be available for players. It also helps that Stanford has long been able to recruit thanks to their amazing academic presence, it is just a matter of finding someone who can recruit as well as Shaw as while also producing a better product.
It is never easy to call for someone's job, especially when they are as kind as coach Shaw has been. However, unless there is a legitimate effort to change his staff, the writing may be on the wall.
