NCAA Football: 5 most valuable college coaches

5.) David Shaw, Stanford

Age: 41
Salary: ~1.75 mil (Stanford is a private school and does not release salary information, figure based on reports from USAToday)

Stanford couldn’t have found a better replacement for Jim Harbaugh than Shaw. If ever there were an example of a coach whose talent is higher than his value it’s likely Harbaugh. That’s not to say Harbaugh isn’t a great coach — he’s potentially the best in the NFL right now — but he has been a headache in Northern California for years. At Stanford, as the athletic department faced a multi-million dollar revenue shortfall in 2009, Harbaugh was having a booster build a 50,000 dollar marble bathroom in his office. A year earlier he’d become incensed when, as a measure of austerity, the Stanford board of trustees had put his multi-million dollar extension on hold.

Lately in San Francisco rumors about him wanting to head to another team have been heard all off-season.

Shaw, by contrast, is an excellent foil. Where Harbaugh was boisterous, Shaw is more reserved. Where Harbaugh was ostentatious, Shaw has been understated. But make no mistake about it, both can coach. Both run good pro style offenses. Both create good NFL prospects. Shaw just isn’t as quick to point it out.

He also may not be as quick to leave. Of course, I could be completely wrong, Shaw is a young man with a bright coaching future ahead of him. But for now, he seems satisfied with where he is. Stanford is a top program in the Pac 12 and Shaw is at home. Shaw’s father, Willie, coached DB’s and linebackers at Stanford in the 70’s, then was the defensive coordinator at Stanford from 1989-1991. David played football and basketball at Stanford in the 90’s. He is a Stanford man, through-and-through.

He’s also one of the most valuable coaches in college football.