Stanford Coach David Shaw Resigns After BYU Loss
Nov 27, 2022, 2:37 AM
Stanford head coach David Shaw announced his resignation moments after a 35-26 loss to BYU. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford head coach David Shaw has resigned after 12 years leading the Cardinal. Shaw announced his resignation after a postgame address to his team moments after falling to BYU 35-26.
“Just informed the team that I just coached my last game at Stanford. It’s been a great 16 years. It really has.” said Shaw to reporters.
Stanford’s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw announced following Saturday’s game that he will step down from his position, effective immediately. https://t.co/WmzV4FQfpa
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) November 27, 2022
“It took awhile to get up here because I basically had to hug the entire football team one at a time. This is a decision that was really made this week. Two weeks ago I never would have thought we’d be having this conversation right now. But really, the last three, four days, a lot of prayer, conversations with my wife, Kori, and this one phrase just kept coming to me: It’s time. It’s time.”
Shaw guided Stanford to three Pac-12 Championships after succeeding Jim Harbaugh as the head coach in 2011. During his dozen years on the Farm, he compiled five Pac-12 North Division titles.
David Shaw had back-to-back 3-9 seasons
On Saturday night, BYU delivered a final blow to a second consecutive 3-9 season for Shaw’s program. The struggles of Stanford football this season were highlighted by the muffed hold on a point after attempt that would have put the Cardinal in a spot to trail BYU by only one possession.
“This program is in a better position than it looks. The transfer portal will be very, very enticing to a lot of people. There are programs that are already illegally back door recruiting; have been doing it for months. I hope a lot of these guys stay,” said Shaw.
When asked what was the “final straw” in Shaw’s resignation, he replied, “I’m not going to accept the premise of the question. There’s no final straw. There’s no pushing over the edge. I think most of you know, like I don’t come up here and make things up. I don’t come up here to mislead you all. I come up here and am pretty straightforward, and I’ll continue to do that. And what I told you is the honest truth.”
Significant coaching moves moments after BYU gets done playing a Pac-12 team is nothing new to the Cougars.
Last season, in the final week of regular season play, BYU faced USC the night before the Trojans hired Lincoln Riley.
Stanford now joins a coaching carousel that has been moving over the past weekend, with Nebraska hiring former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule. And Auburn reportedly in talks with Liberty coach Hugh Freeze.
Shaw finished his Stanford head coaching career with a 96-54 record. He was one of the highest-paid college football coaches, reportedly making $9 million per season.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s BYU/Stanford coverage from The Farm on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
