David Shaw (American football)

David Shaw (born July 31, 1972) is the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal football team. Shaw was the team's offensive coordinator for the entire tenure of head coach Jim Harbaugh from 2007 to 2010. Previously, Shaw was a four-year letter winner playing as a wide receiver for the Cardinal from 1991 to 1994, where he was coached by Dennis Green and Bill Walsh. Prior to returning to Stanford as offensive coordinator, Shaw was Harbaugh's passing game coordinator at the University of San Diego and an assistant coach in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens.

Early life and playing career
Shaw was born in San Diego, California and moved with his family around the country following his father Willie's career as an NFL coach. Shaw played high school football at Rochester Adams High School in Rochester Hills, Michigan while his father coached for the Detroit Lions.

In 1989, Willie accepted a coaching job at Stanford University and the family moved back to the Bay Area where David ultimately graduated from James Logan High School in Union City, California.

He went on to attend Stanford University, where he played college football as a wide receiver under head coaches Dennis Green and Bill Walsh. In his college career from 1991 to 1994, Shaw caught 57 passes for 664 yards and scored five touchdowns. Shaw was also on the Stanford men's basketball and track teams while at the University before earning a B.A. in sociology in 1995.

NFL coaching career
His coaching career began at Western Washington University in 1995. In 1997, Shaw began a nine-year run as an NFL assistant coach with stints for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens.

As the Raiders' quality control from 1998–2000 and quarterbacks coach in 2001, the team won two consecutive AFC West titles and completed a 10–6 regular season.

Shaw was the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 2002–2004 and wide receivers coach for the Ravens from 2002–2005, with the 2003 team finishing with a 10–6 regular season mark and winning the AFC North. In 2005, Shaw coached wide receivers Derrick Mason to a Ravens record of 86 receptions and 1,073 receiving yards (the third-highest Baltimore record) and Mark Clayton to a Ravens rookie record of 44 receptions for 471 yards.

College coaching career
In 2006, Shaw left the NFL for the University of San Diego to join head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff as passing game coordinator. The 11–1 Toreros' offense led the NCAA Division I-AA in many statistical categories, including passing offense (293.3 ypg), total offense (494.25 ypg), and scoring offense (42.83 ppg).

When Harbaugh was hired as head coach of Shaw's alma mater, Stanford, in 2007, he brought Shaw as offensive coordinator. During his years as an assistant coach, Shaw also coached the Cardinal wide receivers and running backs.

Shaw's unit performed successfully during his years as coordinator, powered by 2010 Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck. They scored at least 40 points in 11 different games with Shaw as offensive coordinator, including 10 times in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The Cardinal achieved a school-record 461 points in 2009 and broke the record again the following season with 524 points.

Despite the graduation of 2009 Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart, during Stanford's 2010 season when Shaw took over as running backs coach, the Cardinal running game was second in the conference and 17th in the nation with an average of 213.77 yards and a total of 2,779 yards, Stanford's second-highest rushing total ever.

In January 2011, Shaw was promoted to head coach after Harbaugh left to become head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Shaw is the first Stanford alumnus to serve as head football coach since Paul Wiggin, who coached Stanford from 1980–1983.

Personal
Shaw and his wife Kori have three children. His father, Willie, was a Stanford assistant coach under Jack Christiansen from 1974–1976 and Dennis Green from 1989–1991, and an NFL assistant coach in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and St. Louis Rams. Willie Shaw was a finalist for Stanford's head football coach position in 1992 that eventually went to Bill Walsh (and which would go to David Shaw in 2011).