Bears Head Coaching Candidate: David Shaw |
When you look at the Chicago Bears' list of potential coaching interviews, you wonder how they will get through all those names. For the most part, the Bears have done a great job getting as many interviews done as possible, but they still have a handful of requested interviews that can't happen until specific teams are out of the playoffs.
Looking back at the interviews this team has completed, you have to like the list of names for the most part, but there are some questionable candidates. Perhaps the most questionable candidate saw an interview over the weekend, and given that he continues to hear his name linked to the Bears, it does make you wonder how serious this team is considering making him the next head coach. We are talking about former Stanford University head coach David Shaw, who remains a mystery candidate for the Bears. Seeing out-of-the-box hires isn't a surprise, but the Bears have taken these out-of-the-box interviews to an entirely different level this offseason, with Shaw being the biggest out-of-the-box Interview yet. Shaw is currently working with the Denver Broncos as a senior personnel executive, but he has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, and his journey started in 1995. Not only does he have the expertise the Bears are looking for after being a head coach, but he is also an offensive-minded guy, which is another box the Bears want to check off with whoever they hire, so you can see why there is more interest in this move than you would expect. While most NFL fans only know Shaw through his days at Stanford, having 30 years of experience is no joke, but who is Shaw, and how does his overall coaching background help his case to land an NFL job and the potential Bears opening? As mentioned, Shaw, now 52 years old, got his first coaching opportunity in 1995 when he was the Outside LB coach at Western Washington University. After moving to the Western Washington University TEs coach in 1996, Shaw jumped to the NFL in 1997 and remained there for nine seasons. That all started with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997 as their offensive quality control coach before heading west to Oakland to hold that same title for the next three seasons. Shaw then got moved to QB coach for the Raiders in 2001 before landing with Baltimore in 2001 and spending the next four years as WR or QB coach. His history as a QB coach could come into play here as he helped develop one of the best NFL prospects in recent memory, Andrew Luck before he prematurely retired from the game after six seasons. His time in the NFL ended following the Ravens gig, and he hasn't been back in the NFL since. Chicago isn't letting that scare them away, as he has played a vital role with several collegiate programs, including the University of San Diego, where he continued to work with both the QBs and WRs. During the 2007 season, Shaw got his big break as he moved north to Palo Alto to join Jim Harbaugh's staff at Stanford, where his coaching career would ultimately end. Across his first four seasons at Stanford, Shaw worked with the quarterbacks and receivers and was also the team's offensive coordinator. He also worked with several NFL players who put up big numbers with him calling the plays. Once Harbaugh decided to leave Stanford for San Francisco, Shaw was inserted as his replacement and remained their Head Coach from 2011 through the 2022 season. In those 12 years, Shaw had a ton of early success, as guys like Luck and Christian McCaffrey played a massive role before his success began to wear off near the end of his tenure. Still, with a 96-54 career record and plenty of bowl-season success, his success can't be ignored, as he was one of the better college coaches for over a decade. That type of head coaching experience will not only come into play at the NFL level, but it should also help him land another coaching opportunity in this league, even if that means going the coordinator route first. There is a reason why he elected to join the Broncos after leaving Stanford rather than taking another college opportunity. Shaw wants to be in the NFL, be part of an organization, and lead a team. The Bears could be the team to give him that opportunity, and even if they don't get interviews now, it is the first step in what could be more interviews to follow.
