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Stanford football head coach David Shaw has forever been linked to NFL openings, but this year is different, the David Shaw NFL rumors aren’t going away.
We’ve reached the point of the football season where NFL head coaches are either handed their pink slip or are bound to get one at year’s end. During this time, fans, former players and coaches, and media pundits all give their opinions on who should get the next coaching gig. Usually, they name the hot coordinator in the league, but as we’ve seen in recent years, that transition rarely goes well. On occasion, a college coach makes the leap into the pros when given the chance, most recently being Matt Rhule being hired by the Carolina Panthers out of Baylor.
We’ve already hit on one head coaching candidate in Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, but he’s not the only college coach who should garner consideration. Stanford’s David Shaw has long been considered a future NFL head coach ever since he took the job, ironically, from Harbaugh in 2011.
Stanford is not the team we’ve been accustomed to seeing with Shaw at the helm. Quite honestly, it’s been quite the downward spiral for the Cardinal football program, and it appears now is the best time of any for Shaw to finally return to the pros. Let’s not forget that Shaw used to be an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens from 1997-2005. Here are five teams who should hire Shaw away from Stanford.
5. New York Jets
We’re getting the easy choice out of the way first. The New York Jets enter their bye week with an 0-9 record, their worst start in franchise history. While general manager Joe Douglas didn’t’ do himself any favors with his offseason decision-making and signings, Adam Gase is a massive problem in New York.
Gase basically got the job in New York based on a recommendation from future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. That was a mistake for the Jets to even listen to it, and now they’re paying the price. Gase is supposed to be an offensive genius, yet they rank among the worst in the entire NFL. Quarterback Sam Darnold‘s first three years have been wasted, and his time in New York is reaching its end, as the team is in the driver’s seat to drafting Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson.
If the Jets want to ensure Lawrence has a great career, they need to cut ties with Gase. Bringing in Shaw would be a great choice, considering he worked primarily as a quarterbacks coach in the NFL. That, and he was the offensive coordinator at Stanford, where he worked with generational quarterback Andrew Luck. Shaw is the guy the Jets need to call for their upcoming vacancy.