[gailtate]

As someone with a little experience with board oversight and a CEO, I believe it is always preferable to give the CEO the opportunity to present a plan and hold the CEO accountable for executing it. Don't tell the CEO what to do, just make clear the expectations, or as Bill Walsh said, make the standard of performance clear and unambiguous.

You could tell Shaw he must reach a certain level of performance next year or he is gone, but he has already shown a startling lack of self-awareness and poor judgment that has led him to the point Stanford Football finds itself in now. The AD has to show concern about the program and do whatever can be done to limit the damage, when the guy in charge at the moment can do more damage without intervention.

This thread has been enlightening because it has mentioned the President of the university as having "blood on his hands" for the Football decline.  This, to me, highlights the biggest problem Stanford has. Putting the pieces together it appears:

1. The President doesn't care, doesn't know how, and/or has not done anything to set Standards for the Athletic Department to meet
2. The AD has set no standards for any individual Stanford sports programs
3. The Head Coaches have no standards of performance
4. The Assistant Coaches have no standards of performance
5. The players have no standards of performance
6. Nobody is accountable for performance in any measurable way across the board

Sure, some programs may be led by coaches who are always hungry and reinventing themselves, with their own standards to be the best, and hold assistants accountable, while also helping them advance their careers. But it is also human nature to be complacent when there is no pressure to perform.

I can't tell you how many posts I have seen from Cal fans requesting this coach or that coach be fired, as some sort of panacea for all Cal Football fan frustrations. My reaction is always to look way higher in the organization for real reasons the team is performing poorly. Cal's brass simply doesn't care about winning in sports at the highest levels. This is why Cal has been so terrible for so long in so many sports with rare exceptions. 

But Stanford has never had this dynamic. Stanford has always cared about winning in sports. The only way that happens is if it comes form the top. Either the President themself demand it, the school's benefactors do, or both. You don't win Directors Cups without giving a sh*t at the top.  You don't get Rose Bowls or Final Fours, make College World Series, etc. when you are indifferent.  

Right now, Stanford seems to be rudderless when it comes to sports leadership, and no program is epitomizing that more than the Football program.

Full marks, O.F. This coach has felt absolutely no pressure to perform since he stood under the falling confetti on the ESPN podium in Pasadena. Feels like a generation ago.

[gailtate]

As someone with a little experience with board oversight and a CEO, I believe it is always preferable to give the CEO the opportunity to present a plan and hold the CEO accountable for executing it. Don't tell the CEO what to do, just make clear the expectations, or as Bill Walsh said, make the standard of performance clear and unambiguous.

You could tell Shaw he must reach a certain level of performance next year or he is gone, but he has already shown a startling lack of self-awareness and poor judgment that has led him to the point Stanford Football finds itself in now. The AD has to show concern about the program and do whatever can be done to limit the damage, when the guy in charge at the moment can do more damage without intervention.

This thread has been enlightening because it has mentioned the President of the university as having "blood on his hands" for the Football decline.  This, to me, highlights the biggest problem Stanford has. Putting the pieces together it appears:

1. The President doesn't care, doesn't know how, and/or has not done anything to set Standards for the Athletic Department to meet
2. The AD has set no standards for any individual Stanford sports programs
3. The Head Coaches have no standards of performance
4. The Assistant Coaches have no standards of performance
5. The players have no standards of performance
6. Nobody is accountable for performance in any measurable way across the board

Sure, some programs may be led by coaches who are always hungry and reinventing themselves, with their own standards to be the best, and hold assistants accountable, while also helping them advance their careers. But it is also human nature to be complacent when there is no pressure to perform.

I can't tell you how many posts I have seen from Cal fans requesting this coach or that coach be fired, as some sort of panacea for all Cal Football fan frustrations. My reaction is always to look way higher in the organization for real reasons the team is performing poorly. Cal's brass simply doesn't care about winning in sports at the highest levels. This is why Cal has been so terrible for so long in so many sports with rare exceptions. 

But Stanford has never had this dynamic. Stanford has always cared about winning in sports. The only way that happens is if it comes form the top. Either the President themself demand it, the school's benefactors do, or both. You don't win Directors Cups without giving a sh*t at the top.  You don't get Rose Bowls or Final Fours, make College World Series, etc. when you are indifferent.  

Right now, Stanford seems to be rudderless when it comes to sports leadership, and no program is epitomizing that more than the Football program.

Full marks, O.F. This coach has felt absolutely no pressure to perform since he stood under the falling confetti on the ESPN podium in Pasadena. Feels like a generation ago.