David Shaw says NFL is not a career goal for him
The annual NFL head coaching rumor mill always includes David Shaw, but the Stanford coach seems to be getting ahead of it this year.
When NFL head coaching openings start to come open, or are rumored to be coming open, Stanford head coach David Shaw is a popular candidate to take the step to the next level. His years as an NFL assistant, from 1997-2005 with the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, make it a convenient connection.
Shaw was very quickly mentioned as a candidate to replace Chuck Pagano as Indianapolis Colts head coach, where he could reunite with Andrew Luck, and Shaw has more recently surfaced as someone the New York Giants may have interest in.
But Shaw, in comments to Howie Kussoy of the New York Post, is dismissing any desire to entertain interest from NFL teams.
"I’ve coached at that level. I’ve worked with All-Pro guys and Hall of Fame guys, and I’ve coached in every game except for the biggest one, so it’s not like, ‘OK, that’s my goal and I have to get there.’ My goal is to do great things at Stanford. If one day that happens, great, but it’s not a goal in my career to do that."
According to USA Today’s list, Shaw is the seventh-highest paid head coach in college football this year at a little over $5.6 million. So the NFL is not a draw based purely on salary, and he went further by pointing to what he sees as unfinished business at his alma mater.
"I’m planning for the long haul,” Shaw said. “As much as we’ve won and played well, I think we’re still establishing ourselves and we’re still building and we’re still growing. We can accomplish so much more, and I don’t feel like that the job’s close to halfway done."
Shaw has a 73-20 record over almost seven seasons as head coach at Stanford, with three conference titles and four times being named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. A sixth season with 10 or more wins is possible with a win over TCU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
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Shaw’s denial of interest in any other job, and words of commitment to his current gig, is hardly new in the broad scope of football coaches. But it does fit with his rejection of interest from NFL teams in recent years, and maybe he’s trying to get ahead of it with a preemptive warning this time around. Or it could be a leverage play with Stanford, if an NFL offer does come in a few weeks.