David Shaw Resigns as Stanford Head Coach: What to Know

By Brian Jones

David Shaw is no longer the head coach at Stanford. After the Stanford Cardinal football team lost to Brigham Young in the season final on Saturday, Nov. 26, Shaw announced he's stepping down from his position as his head coach. Shaw won 96 games at Stanford, making him the all-time leader in wins for the school.

According to The Athletic, Shaw was in no danger of being dismissed despite the team winning only three games this season. Shaw reportedly told Stanford president  Marc Tessier-Lavigne and athletic director Bernard Muir he was going to step down after returning from Thanksgiving.

"After many prayers and multiple discussions with my wife, one phrase keeps coming to me – it's time," Shaw said in a statement. "There are not sufficient words to describe the love and gratitude I feel for my family, all of my former and current players, my staff, this administration and the entire Stanford family. Thank you all."  

Shaw, 50, joined the Stanford coaching staff in 2007 as the team's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He was promoted to head coach in 2011 after Jim Harbaugh became the head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. In his 12 seasons as Stanford's head coach, Shaw recorded a 96-54 record and led the Cardinals to five Pac-12 North Division titles and three Pac-12 Championships. He was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year four times and also won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year in 2017.

"I would like to thank David for his immense contributions to Stanford," Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir said. "David has represented Stanford football, as both a player and a coach, with unwavering grace, humility and integrity. He has cared tremendously for each and every student-athlete in his program while helping them pursue their full academic and athletic potential. David will forever remain a valued member of the Stanford football family and an integral part of the storied history of the program. I hope Cardinal fans everywhere will join me in thanking David and his family for their extraordinary years of service and wishing them all the best in their next chapter."  

"There are a lot of people that think this program is down. That's what our record says," Shaw said, per ESPN. "But I look at the components. I look at the people here, the support that I'm hearing coming from our athletic director, from our university president, the people that are behind the scenes. We're not that far away." Stanford will start a national search for a new head coach immediately. 

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