[winflop]

Stanford record 2016-2021:  36-23 (61.2%)

Records of previous Stanford coaches:
Jim Harbaugh 29-21 (58.0%)
Walt Harris 6-17 (26.1%)
Buddy Teevens 10-23 (30.3%)
Tyrone Willingham 44-36-1 (54.9%)
Dennis Green 16-18 (47.1%)
Jack Elway 25-29-2 (46.4%)
Paul Wiggin 16-28 (47.1%)
Rod Dowhower 5-5-1 (50%)
Bill Walsh 34-24 (58.5%)
Jack Christiansen 30-22 (57.3%)
John Ralston 55-36 (60.1%)

You actually have to go all the way back to Clark Shaughnessy in 1940-41 to find a Stanford coach with a better record than Shaw since he gave up the keys to the "Ferrari."  Shaw's "bad years" are still better than the record of any post-war coach we've had.  OK, we are no longer driving a Ferrari, but Shaw hasn't exactly been driving a Ford Pinto.

BC

You're not wrong, but David Shaw is a victim of his own success. Here are Stanford's winning percentages by year since 2011:

Year       Overall  Pac-12
2011       85%        89%
2012       86%        89%
2013       79%        78%
2014       62%        56%
2015       86%        89%
2016       77%        67%
2017       64%        78%
2018       69%        67%
2019       33%        33%
2020       67%        67%

The difference between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 is significant and cannot be ignored, There's only one year in 2011-2015 with winning percentages lower than ANY year in 2016-2020. Is it better than the past? Yes, but for at least some of us it's not good enough because Shaw (and Harbaugh) showed that we CAN be better and we CAN be a nationally prominent program.

[winflop]

Stanford record 2016-2021:  36-23 (61.2%)

Records of previous Stanford coaches:
Jim Harbaugh 29-21 (58.0%)
Walt Harris 6-17 (26.1%)
Buddy Teevens 10-23 (30.3%)
Tyrone Willingham 44-36-1 (54.9%)
Dennis Green 16-18 (47.1%)
Jack Elway 25-29-2 (46.4%)
Paul Wiggin 16-28 (47.1%)
Rod Dowhower 5-5-1 (50%)
Bill Walsh 34-24 (58.5%)
Jack Christiansen 30-22 (57.3%)
John Ralston 55-36 (60.1%)

You actually have to go all the way back to Clark Shaughnessy in 1940-41 to find a Stanford coach with a better record than Shaw since he gave up the keys to the "Ferrari."  Shaw's "bad years" are still better than the record of any post-war coach we've had.  OK, we are no longer driving a Ferrari, but Shaw hasn't exactly been driving a Ford Pinto.

BC

You're not wrong, but David Shaw is a victim of his own success. Here are Stanford's winning percentages by year since 2011:

Year       Overall  Pac-12
2011       85%        89%
2012       86%        89%
2013       79%        78%
2014       62%        56%
2015       86%        89%
2016       77%        67%
2017       64%        78%
2018       69%        67%
2019       33%        33%
2020       67%        67%

The difference between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 is significant and cannot be ignored, There's only one year in 2011-2015 with winning percentages lower than ANY year in 2016-2020. Is it better than the past? Yes, but for at least some of us it's not good enough because Shaw (and Harbaugh) showed that we CAN be better and we CAN be a nationally prominent program.