According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the Detroit Lions are bringing on David Shaw as their passing game coordinator. The two sides have come to an agreement on a multi-year contract.
Shaw was the head coach at Stanford from 2011 to 2022, but has more recently been the senior personnel executive for the Denver Broncos.
Prior to accepting the role with the Lions, Shaw had also been a contender for the offensive coordinator job with the Chicago Bears. He had an interview with Ben Johnson and his team late last week but has ultimately chosen to work with new offensive coordinator John Morton on Dan Campbell’s staff.
The Denver Broncos initially invited the ex-Stanford coach for a head coaching interview in 2023 while they were looking to replace Nathaniel Hackett. Regrettably for Shaw, the team chose to select former Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton instead.
He was ultimately brought on board in the team’s front office and played a key role in guiding Denver to its first playoff appearance since their Super Bowl 50 victory.
Shaw worked for the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Oakland Raiders from 1997 to 2005 before teaming up with Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego in 2006. He subsequently joined Harbaugh at Stanford in 2006 as the offensive coordinator and eventually took over for Harbaugh when he moved to the NFL.
Shaw served as the head coach for the Cardinal until the conclusion of the 2022 season, at which point he declared his resignation.
He would conclude his more than ten-year stint at Stanford with a total record of 96-54. This included a 65-40 record in Pac-12 competition, but success became more elusive in the later stages of his tenure. The Cardinal did not lose more than four games in any single season in his last four years in the role, including a 3-9 record in his final year, 2022.
Even with a disappointing conclusion, Shaw received the Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor on four occasions. He additionally guided Stanford to three Pac-12 championships and two Rose Bowl triumphs over 12 seasons. Shaw, with 96 victories, holds the record for the most wins by any coach in Cardinal program history. He broke the former record for victories by a head coach with 72, surpassing the old record set by renowned coach Pop Warner.
He is now poised to assist the Lions’ offense in the passing game following one of the franchise’s most remarkable offensive seasons ever. Detroit achieved a total of 564 points — the fourth-highest in a single season in NFL history.