David Shaw Reportedly Likely to Stay at Stanford; Reunion with Luck Unlikely
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Stanford University head football coach David Shaw is likely to remain with the Cardinal and does not plan on pursuing NFL head coaching opportunities at this time–including potentially with the Indianapolis Colts:
#Stanford coach David Shaw is a top college coaches coveted by @NFL teams. He plans to stay & openings in SF & (likely) Indy won't change it
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2016
Of course, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck played under Stanford’s Shaw as head coach in 2011, when the Cardinal went 11-2 and lost in the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma State 41-38. During that season, which was Luck’s last at Stanford, he completed 288 of 404 passes for 3,517 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a rating of 169.7.
However, Shaw was also Stanford’s offensive coordinator during Luck’s other two seasons with the Cardinal in 2009-10. Needless to say, the two are well-familiar with one another.
In his 5 seasons as Stanford’s head coach, Shaw has gone 54-14 (.794), including 3 Pac-12 Championships and Coach of the Year honors. Most recently, his Cardinal defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-16 en route to winning this year’s Rose Bowl.
When it comes to Stanford, the Colts are well-acquainted with ex-Cardinal too.
Not only with Luck, but the team has also had other Stanford players such as tight end Coby Fleener and recently waived wideout Griff Whalen.
Not to mention, former Stanford offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton was the Colts offensive coordinator before being dismissed earlier this season–one reason why the team may not want to go down that bridge again with another Stanford coaching product such as Shaw as head coach.
Still, all indications are that Shaw plans on staying at Stanford right now, at least for the time being–meaning that a reunion with Luck is currently unlikely.