Lions to hire long-time Stanford coach David Shaw as passing game coordinator

The Lions have their new passing game coordinator, and he's a well-known name.

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Tanner Engstrand is not technically gone to Aaron Glenn's New York Jets' staff yet, but he is being replaced. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Detroit Lions are hiring former Stanford head coach David Shaw as their new passing game coordinator. Pelissero added the two sides have agreed to a "multi-year deal."

The 52-year old Shaw spent this past season as a senior personnel executive for the Denver Broncos. But he his best known for his 12 seasons as the head coach at Stanford (2011-2022), where he had a 96-54 record. The Cardinal won double-digit games five times in his first eight seasons, and made a bowl in each of those first eight campaigns (5-3 bowl record). He won Pac-12 Coach of the Year four times.

After four straight losing seasons at Stanford, Shaw resigned and took a year off in 2023.

Shaw played wide receiver at Stanford under Dennis Green and Bill Walsh in the early 1990's. He entered coaching in 1995 as outside linebackers coach at Western Washington University. After two seasons there, the second as tight ends coach, he entered the NFL as an offensive quality control coach with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 1998, Shaw joined the Oakland Raiders coaching staff. That's the same year new Lions offensive coordinator John Morton joined the Raiders staff, and they worked together there through 2001. Of course Shaw and Morton overlapped again with the Broncos this season.

Lions land David Shaw as their new passing game coordinator

Outside of his notable run as the head coach at Stanford, where players like Andrew Luck and Christian McCaffrey played for him, Shaw has coached every offensive skill position over the course of his career.

Shaw was the Raiders' quarterbacks coach in 2001, followed by four seasons (2002-2005) with the Baltimore Ravens where he coached quarterbacks and wide receivers.

From there Shaw spent one year at the University of San Diego as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach under Jim Harbaugh. He followed Harbaugh back to Stanford in 2007, spending four season as the offensive coordinator (and splitting the four seasons between additional duties as wide receivers coach, then running backs coach) before succeeding Harbaugh as head coach when Harbaugh left to become the San Francisco 49ers' head coach.

Shaw interviewed for the Chicago Bears' head coaching job that eventually went to former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and he also interviewed for their offensive coordinator post after Johnson was hired. He has generally been a candidate for NFL head coaching jobs going back years, but he never made the jump.

As candidates to replace Engstrand as Lions' passing game coordinator go, with it seemingly inevitable but not yet official he's going to be Glenn's offensive coordinator in New York, Shaw is as good as it gets.

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