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Ex-College Rival of Amon-Ra St. Brown Officially Joins Lions
Lorenzo J. Reyna, Feb 18, 2025, 4:47 PM EST
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USC Trojans
Detroit Lions
USC Trojans legend Amon-Ra St. Brown now knows who will officially assist new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton as passing game coordinator—although it’s a familiar old college football rival of the All-Pro wide receiver.
The team officially announced the complete coaching staff for 2025, with David Shaw coming aboard for the role next to Morton. Shaw, who once coached and even tried to recruit St. Brown to Stanford, is the same coach joining the Lions.
Shaw spent 2011-2022 at Stanford, leading the team to Rose Bowl appearances and Pac-12 titles. During his tenure, he had to strategize against St. Brown’s USC teams in 2018-2019. Those teams split the series, with St. Brown catching only two passes for 39 yards in the 2018 game won by Stanford. However, in the 2019 meeting, St. Brown exploded, catching eight passes for 97 yards and scoring twice in a 45-20 win for USC. The two teams did not face off in the COVID-affected 2020 season.
St. Brown shared on his podcast on Feb. 7 that Shaw was in the process of joining head coach Dan Campbell’s staff. He mentioned that he first met Shaw during a recruiting visit to Stanford.
“I’ve known Shaw since high school. I always thought he was a great guy and honest,” St. Brown said. “He texted me after he was hired. I’m excited to see him. It’s going to be fun.”
Stanford was one of St. Brown’s offers out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, but he ultimately chose to commit to USC for the 2018 class.
This will be Shaw’s first coaching role since the 2022 season with Stanford, where his last team finished 3-9 overall. Shaw later moved to the NFL, serving as senior personnel executive for the Denver Broncos under Sean Payton for the past two years.