With Stanford struggling, is it finally time for David Shaw to jump to the NFL?

On the heels of a blowout loss on the road to UCF, is it time for Stanford head coach David Shaw to finally make the leap to the NFL?

After a Week One win over Northwestern at home, the Stanford Cardinal have hit a wall in the two weeks following.  A blowout conference loss to USC on the road and then getting dismantled by UCF on the road has the Cardinal trending in the wrong direction. This, of course, will likely lead to increased speculation about the future of head coach David Shaw.

With Oregon on tap and a tough trek through the Pac-12 North, it’s fair to consider whether the Cardinal will be able to scrape together five more wins over their final nine games to become bowl eligible. It should come as no surprise if Shaw can coach his program there, but if they don’t make it either one has to wonder if this when Shaw finally makes the leap back to the NFL.

Shaw has been one of the best coaches in the Pac-12 and the most consistent coach in the program this decade. Taking over for Jim Harbaugh in 2011, Shaw has led the Cardinal to three Pac-12 titles and has won the North five times.

Before that he spent time in the ’90s and 2000s as an assistant in the NFL. He’s very familiar with the pro game and he’s seemingly linked every year to a head coaching position.

Shaw has turned down those overtures, of course, to continue to helm the Cardinal and was proven successful with his decision by the success and talent he’s produced.

Leading into a new decade and having shown what he can do with Stanford, this might, in fact, be the best time for Shaw to make that leap. Jobs are always opening up in the NFL each season.

No longer do teams afford patience to head coaching hires, as they want results right away and in some cases, ax coaches after a single season. NFL teams have proven they aren’t afraid to dip into the college ranks either.

In this instance, Shaw has extensive experience in both college and the pros. A team might strongly that Shaw can come in and fix an offense and turn things around right away.

The Carolina Panthers have lost nine of 10 games dating back to last season. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their offensive woes were on display and offensive coordinator Norv Turner misused Christian McCaffrey on a fourth-down play that ended the game.

You know who has experience working with McCaffrey? Why that would be Shaw of course. If head coach Ron Rivera is let go and the Panthers’ woes on offense continue, Shaw is a candidate that would make a ton of sense in Carolina.

Everyone saw the way that Cam Newton looked in that game against Tampa Bay. It’s not unfamiliar from what we’ve seen from him the past couple of seasons. He’s taken a lot of hits and his mechanics look off. David Shaw was a quarterbacks coach during his NFL assistant days. He knows how to work with quarterbacks and while he would be a first-time head coach at the pro level, he’s someone who would gain the respect of his peers right away.

If it’s not Carolina, there are going to be other openings around the league. Shaw would probably garner a lot of interest across the NFL. This isn’t the case of say Kliff Kingsbury, where the Cardinals took a chance on someone who didn’t have coaching experience at the pro level. Shaw wouldn’t be seen as risky of a move.

Stanford faces an uphill climb in the North and they might be capped out with what they can accomplish with the likes of Washington, Oregon, Washington State and even Cal all vying for the top spot.

Very few would argue with the notion that Shaw was the best coach in the Pac-12 this decade. Now, it could be time leading into the next decade that he gives the NFL a shot if given the opportunity.