What’s left to say? Stanford football is a dumpster fire. The only four-leaf clovers remaining are the Notre Dame logos coming into town this Saturday. Stanford opened as a 16.5-point underdog to Notre Dame, and the worst part of the impending beatdown is that Stanford fully deserves it. Stanford is going into this weekend with the likes of UCONN, Tulsa, Kansas, Rutgers, and the rest of the bottom feeders of the college football world. It’s a tough pill to swallow. Old-school fans might say: “Welcome to Stanford football, where sustained success just isn’t possible and down years are inevitable.” And I’ve certainly seen bad football over the decades, but after a decade of dominance, a complete collapse is hard to watch.
I feel sorry for Shayne Skov. Skov is a Stanford great who came to Big Game as honorary team captain, hoping Stanford would win a record 10 axes in a row. Instead, Skov witnessed a pathetic performance against Cal. Skov never would have let this team fade into the sunset. He never would have allowed his defense to give up that last drive. But when Cal looked into the eyes of the Stanford players at Big Game, they didn’t see the menace of Skov. They saw... 2019 Stanford—and proceeded to stampede all over it.
Let me be the first to say that I get that hiring and firing coaches is never an easy decision—it’s also a decision that you might regret in the future. Hiring Walt Harris was a regret. Cal firing Jeff Tedford and USC letting Ed Orgeron go are probably regrets, too. Right now, Stanford has a coach who has more wins at Stanford than Pop Warner, Bill Walsh, Tyrone Willingham, and Jim Harbaugh. He’s also a Stanford alumnus. Put simply, he is all but tenured. Even so, I think granting immunity to even someone with the pedigree of Shaw is a dangerous precedent.
Let’s look at some great college coaches and compare. Although I sometimes question if he’s Lucifer incarnate, let’s nonetheless start with the GOAT: Nick Saban. Saban has NEVER finished under .500. Dabo Swinney went 19-15 in his first three years. He’s never finished a regular season under .500—and, even including bowl games, has only had one season that finished 6-7. Since that season, Swinney is 108-15, has never finished worse than 2nd in league play, experienced multiple playoff appearances, two National Championships, and hasn’t lost since January 1st, 2018. “Ok, that’s real fair to use the two best coaches in the game. What else ya got?” Ok, I’ll use two coaches that compare to Stanford.
- Coach A was 78-17 going into 2017. Multiple big bowl games and even won a national championship. Coach A went 5-6 and was feeling the heat and left town. In the two years since, that school has gone 11-12. Coach A has gone 16-8 at his new school.
- Coach B is 105-43. He has only two seasons under .500 with a pair of big bowl game appearances. Coach B has 6 seasons of 10+ wins in 12 years of collegiate coaching. Coach B is 9-2 this season and yet, is on the hot seat at his own alma mater.
Sound familiar? Coach A is Jimbo Fisher and Coach B is Jim Harbaugh. Both have felt the hot seat—and both got better afterward. Ask yourself, shouldn’t Mr. Shaw be grateful for the rare ones like me who are calling for his head?
Perhaps firing Shaw is a bit drastic after one losing season. I don’t want to end up losing a great coach—especially if he ends up going somewhere else to extraordinary success. But he does need to feel a seat beginning to get warm to motivate him to get off the hamster wheel of the last few seasons. It starts with cleaning house. And don’t go back to hiring within: it isn’t working—we need to bring in new coaches with new ideas.
This is a period of transition for both me and Stanford football. My roaring 20s will end in 2020 as we journey into a new era of Stanford football. Our program is going to be different. I don’t know if it will be better or worse, but next year is a landmark season that will determine Stanford’s direction. As if to herald the new age, Stanford is already considering changes to their season-ticket philosophies, in-game music, and sounds. But what will come with the new age? Will other schools poach our recruits? Or will we find a way to recruit at a high level? Will we finally get new coaches who can get the job done? Or will the offense continue to degrade? And who will be the QB in 2020? When we reach 2020, Stanford will once again be 0-0—its future unwritten. Until then, we go into Saturday expecting a beating.
Comments
If I were the offensive coordinator...
that finished almost dead last in the Pac-12 in every offensive category, I would be very worried about my job. That’s close to what happened in 2018 at USC, new OC, and look at them this year, still dominant even with QB #3. Fix the Offense.
The injury plague of the last two years should not be a mystery. Look at this 2015 YouTube featuring former Strength & Conditioning Coach Shannon Turley, whose knowledge and effort kept Stanford as one of the least injured teams in college football: https://youtu.be/Xlvp0KTEqL4.
He was let go, so cannot come back, but something has to happen. For the good of the players, and for the good of the team. Fix S&C.
By SacCardFan on 11.27.19 8:17pm
Conditioning has its limited effectiveness.
Shannon Turley’s dismissal was a different kind of loss than many fans seem to know. Turley was "bumped upstairs" a couple of years ago. He’d been top supervisor for all of the Athletic Dept. training programs…that’s all 36 varsity sports. Apparently, his dismissal situation wasn’t about his masterful former service to the football program, which he’d no longer been directly performing.
There has been an apparent OC-related program change. My surmise has been along such thought trains.
By Candid One on 12.01.19 10:10pm
OC?
Vernacular explain, pls.
By holdthemayo! on 12.02.19 3:57am
Fortunately for all sane Stanford football fans you're not the OC
Hello ! All David Shaw has done during his tenure here is become THE winningest football coach in Stanford’s storied 130 year HISTORY ! That includes the a couple legends like Pop Warner and Bill Walsh, not to mention several other extremely competent coaches like Chuck Taylor, Dennis Green, and John Ralston ! FYI Shaw is also in the top 5 or 10 of all current FBS football coaches in win percentage in spite of being cursed this year by an unreal plague of injuries all across the roster but ESPECIALLY along the OLine where 3 or 4 freshmen played regularly… Sheesh !!
Unfortunately Shaw’s coaching excellence hasn’t rubbed off on SB Nation bloggers here…
By maddogsfavsnpiks on 12.06.19 12:22am
First, I doubt Shaw is getting...
…a "pass" from any quarter, especially Shaw. I’m sure there’s plenty of heat.
Second, I don’t and didn’t see any holes in the offensive skill positions, especially RB. Maybe I’m a Scarlett homer, but the guy is a proficient, capable power back. Our offensive troubles begin and end with the line, and its development, depth and utter decimation. I guess I can agree that part of the cure is fixing S&C, but at the end of the day (it gets dark), the TWU was shy on its dues this year. That’s THE offensive problem.
More concerning is the defense. We had one shut-down, old-school, Fear the Tree performance this year, against the Dawgs. One. The rest of the season, we were pure sliced Jarlsberg. Reality is that the D could have made wins out of at least three or four, of those losses. Unquestionably, defense wins championships, but also save seasons.
For the good of the players, the good of the team and my personal autumnal emotional health (and BP), FIX THE D!
By Plan Man on 11.28.19 9:04am
No... he should not...
Somewhere in the last four years, the team started to slide from maximizing their talent to playing well below their ability. The whole is no longer greater than the sum of its parts. Several position groups (o-line, d-line, linebackers, quarterbacks) are not developing even though the recruiting has pulled in more talented players than ever. All of that is on Shaw.
For reasons I do not understand, despite the better players we recruit, the team seems to always leave 6-10 scholarship open. That is on Shaw.
Injuries have piled up over the last two years to a ridiculous degree. The head trainer was let go last spring under mysterious circumstances. The inability to recognize what isn’t working here is on Shaw.
The team’s in-game strategies rarely appear to match the personnel the team has available – like there’s a stubborn unwillingness to accept reality. That is on Shaw.
The practice field has a big sign on it saying something like "Either you are getting better or you are getting worse; you don’t stay the same." The coaching has gotten way, way worse in the last few years. After the worst season the team has seen in a decade, Shaw needs to spend a good amount of time reflecting on the eroding of his program, and he needs to recognize that something needs to change. It cannot be business as usual. If he doesn’t make changes, then he should be firmly on the hot seat next year.
By RickeySteals on 12.01.19 3:48pm
Shaw effectively has Stanford tenure.
Fairweather fans so readily overlook the salient question when criticizing Shaw…"compared to what?" Shaw is already the winningest head football coach in Stanford history. His record is currently among the best in the PAC-12. No significant complaints are coming from alums, especially after the horrific injury rate of this particular season. Stanford is not begrudging that Shaw hasn’t won a national championship. Compared to his predecessors, Shaw is a keeper. Shaw has had a history of disputed decision making and play calling, which seems to continue what Harbaugh had earned too. Fans want to be finicky? Go for it…on their own!
By Candid One on 12.01.19 10:20pm
What Shaw should do in the offseason v. what Shaw will do
David Shaw is not going anywhere, nor should he. He’s a good coach, an excellent role model, and, for Stanford, a good recruiter. But he needs to evaluate his entire program this off season, starting with his coaching staff.
He should hire an experienced offensive coordinator and relinquish the play calling. He might do the former, but not the latter. The entire defense needs strength on the front and speed and quickness throughout. Thus, he should open up the entire roster cupboard to his defensive coaches, moving some wide receivers to defensive backs/safeties and some linemen or tight ends (such as Tucker Fisk) to the defensive line. Shaw won’t do this because he appears to believe this would be disloyal to his players. He needs an effective strength and conditioning coach and needs to bring back former players in the off season to give tutorials on strength and conditioning to the various position groups (De Castro on the offensive line; Martinez on linebackers; Sherman on defensive backs; McCaffrey on running backs; Luck on QB; Bailey on kickers; Phillips or Thomas on defensive line). He won’t change his strength coach, but he might persuade the former players to return to the Farm. And he needs someone from the outside to examine his entire program to determine the causes of the rash of injuries and to make suggestions on how to prevent injuries going forward.
Stanford has the players next year to be a very good football team, but so does USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Utah, Washington State, Washington, and Oregon. To beat those teams, the coaching staff (including Shaw) has to perform better than it did this year. You shouldn’t blame the players for inconsistency during games, which was the hallmark of this year’s team. You blame the coaches.
By SU74 on 12.02.19 8:50am
One Last Thought
Instead of having a former QB who essentially won one game as your offensive coordinator, how about the winningest QB in Stanford history? Yep, bring back Kevin Hogan as your QB coach and offensive coordinator. He knows Shaw. He knows the playbook. And, most importantly, he knows how to win.
By SU74 on 12.02.19 9:03am
Shaw isn't on the hot seat, or even the warm one
He’s not going to be on any kind of hot seat after this season given the injury level, and the overall performance of his time as HC. We’re not SC — we are not going to fire the most successful coach in the history of the program because he has a 4-8 season, or even a few of them.
He needs to retool the assistant coaches. Perhaps he will, but perhaps he won’t. The administration won’t be irritated either way, I think, given his track record and the injuries this year.
Petersen, however, just became available. Wonder if he’s going to end up at SC?
By Brendan Ross on 12.02.19 12:57pm
Sounded to me...
…like Petersen is taking time off. Here’s hoping it’s nothing more than burn. Given that we’re men of a certain age, I worry that it’s, like, prostate or something and he needs time with the family. I hope not.
Re Shaw: we are run first. Period. That is a proven winner, WHEN we are healthy and provisioned as such. How many P-12Cs has Mike Leach and the "Air-Raid" won?
By Plan Man on 12.02.19 5:02pm
The Author of this Article is Indeed a NERD !
Dear Mr Nerd,
Your not-so-subtle hit piece on David Shaw is a disgrace. Even implying that his seat is, or should be warming, is disgusting and has NO basis in any notion of football reality. You write, "Perhaps firing Shaw is a bit drastic after one losing season." NO Nerd, even the thought of it is INSANE !
Quite simply, David Shaw is an exceptional football coach both by his demonstrated record (being in the top 10 in winning percentage of all current FBS head coaches) AND by the fact that he’s done that while NOT coaching at a "football factory" like ‘bama and Ohio St, but rather at an exceptional institution that emphasizes a genuine, scholarly, learning experience of the HIGHEST quality. As you should be fully aware, that in itself narrows the scope of recruiting for a football coach, but what has Shaw done under the circumstances ? — he has a winning record against EVERY other PAC 12 school (except Utah) plus the regularly scheduled Notre Dame !
I shouldn’t have to mention that includes loooong winning streaks against such hated rivals as Cal and UCLA (in fact if i’m not mistaken this year is the first time he’s lost to the Bruins during his tenure !
That your article fails to emphasize the devastating nature of the injuries this year, especially to the offensive line, is a sickening travesty of journalism and should disqualify you from future authorship… at the very least you should be assigned to the chair in the corner with your dunce cap on…
By maddogsfavsnpiks on 12.06.19 1:37am