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5 candidates to replace Chuck Pagano, Nick Saban leads the way

By Cody Williams

Sep 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano coaches on the sidelines against the New York Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano coaches on the sidelines against the New York Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 15, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal coach David Shaw leads players onto field before the NCAA football game against the UCLA Bruins at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal coach David Shaw leads players onto field before the NCAA football game against the UCLA Bruins at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

4. David Shaw

David Shaw is currently the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal, where he’s enjoyed success in the post-Jim Harbaugh era at the program. However, it’s not Shaw’s success over the past few seasons in the world of college football that makes his case to be a candidate for the Colts’ head coaching position. Instead, it’s the fact that Shaw has immense experience in putting Andrew Luck in a position to run a productive offense.

As Luck rose to prominence at Stanford before being selected with the No. 1-overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, it was Shaw who was guiding the way for Luck in the Cardinal offense. Shaw served as the offensive coordinator at Stanford for Luck’s first two seasons as the Cardinal’s starter and then took the helm as the head coach for his final season in the program. Considering it was his performance in Shaw’s offense that helped mold him into a potential superstar, that definitely serves as a testament to Shaw.

Though Irsay or anyone in the Colts would never admit it, the chief concern of this team has always been to appease Luck and to put him in the best position to succeed. You have to guess that bringing in the guy who designed Luck’s college offense and coached him for his final year in college would be a good way of doing that. Shaw may not be the biggest name, but he’s a name that could be a dark horse to fill the potential void.

Next: No. 3 Josh McDaniels

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