Stanford football at crossroads after Shaw steps down
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — David Shaw helped build Stanford into a physical powerhouse that was one of the top college football programs in the nation last decade.
Shaw now believes a new coach will be best positioned to return the Cardinal to that level, leading to his decision to step down after a 16-year run on The Farm, including the last 12 as the head coach who won the most games in school history.
“It’s time. It’s time for me to step away. Time for Stanford to find that next person to lead,” Shaw said at a news conference Monday, two days after announcing his decision following a season-ending loss to BYU.
“I hope the next person beats ( our accomplishments). I really do. ... We’ve got a lot of great young people here, a lot of recruits I know are waiting to see what’s going to happen. But this place is special. This place is magical and I can’t wait for Stanford to be on top again.”
But pulling off a similar turnaround to the one that started when Shaw was an assistant on Jim Harbaugh’s first staff in 2007 and then built on as head coach starting in 2011 could be even more difficult now.
The Cardinal are 14-28 over the last four seasons as the program has struggled to keep up in a rapidly changing college football landscape with players transferring more freely and earning money for name, image, and likeness.
“Stanford can be successful in football on the national stage and has done it before, and we’ll do it again,” athletic director Bernard Muir said.
Muir said the university remains committed to fielding a top-flight football program on par with its dozens of other teams that consistently compete for national championships.
Muir said the administration is figuring out how it can utilize NIL and the transfer portal to help in that regard without violating Stanford’s principles.
“We know others are a little more aggressive in that space right now, and we just have to find what is the right fit for Stanford,” Muir said. “Striking the appropriate balance is important. As it relates to the transfer portal. I think we can dabble in it. We’re not going to build an entire roster from transfers.