Stanford Football believed to have hit "rock bottom" under David Shaw
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If you would have told me in 2015 that Stanford's head coach David Shaw and the program would hit a tremendous wall, and look like a shell of their former self, I would have called you crazy.
When Shaw took over as the Stanford head coach, the program didn't skip a beat. He established himself as one of the best coaches in the sport, and had taken the program to new heights. The Cardinal made four New Year's Six bowl games within the first five seasons of the Shaw tenure, and the program had become one of the most consistent and successful in the country.
Fast forward to now, Stanford is one loss away from securing their fourth losing season in five years, and Shaw is on the hot seat. The Cardinal haven't had the best luck this season, as injuries have impacted this team immensely.
They are without four running backs, their best receiver, and have had defensive players in and out of the lineup weekly. Losing this many quality players would hurt any team, but even when the team was at full strength it was evident that something is missing. The offense turns the ball over at one of the highest rates in the country, ranking t-No. 4 in giveaways, while being less than stellar as a unit ranking No. 82 in total offense. The defense on the other hand ranks as one of the worst units in the country, coming in at No. 102 in total defense.
I'm not saying that injury and scheduling haven't hurt this team, but there really hasn't been a moment where the team has done something positive and made anyone confident that they can do that again.
It also doesn't help that the fan base has seemingly checked out when it comes to supporting this team. So much so that the USA TODAY believes the program has hit "rock bottom" with Shaw. The article mocked the free ticket giveaway that fans weren't enticed by saying:
There, in plain sight, was an offer for anyone to get free tickets so they could lock in those seats for the entire 2023 slate. That free trial quickly became a clown show on social media as the promotion quickly disappeared just about as soon as it was posted, meaning either there was a rush and those tickets were quickly scooped up or the administration saw the backlash it generated and came to their senses.
He continued saying:
Either way, fast forward to Saturday when the Cougars came calling to Stanford Stadium – and you could see why anyone in their right mind would want to stay away. The Cardinal found themselves down 42-7 at halftime en route to a 52-14 beatdown in front a listed 26,000 in attendance. The stadium's capacity is 50,400.
It is hard to fault the fans, even with the promise of free tickets. The team is playing an uninspired style of football that doesn't compliment the personnel well at all, the staff has been unable to make adjustments, and the trajectory of the program has become a laughing stock even with impressive recruiting classes. Not that it matters, but when the idea of conference realignment is brought up, the national landscape has long forgotten the days of Stanford's dominance, and now essentially sees them as the Vanderbilt of the West.
In the era of NIL and the transfer portal, Stanford has still been able to recruit well but they haven't done anything with the talent they get on campus. Whether the changes needed to be made will actually be made to help get the program on track are to be seen, but it is unclear what more can be done to salvage this tenure. Especially when there seems to be a reluctancy amongst the staff to admit that there is something wrong. I personally don't know what the program will do, whether it is allow for Shaw to make staff changes of his own or if we are well past that and it is time to get a fresh face in the head coaching room.
I don't know if this is "rock bottom" yet, but if it's not, then it sure is close. There is just way too much talent on these rosters to not consistently be competing in the Pac-12.
