[BostonCard]

BTW, Mike Montgomery was an example of someone who sustainably maintained this environment (with the benefit of some players like Brevin as well). I don't think a Harbaugh-like personality is the only way to pull this off. Hopefully Shaw can find a good balance of this without changing who he is and what makes him (still) a great fit for Stanford.

Mike Montgomery is also a cautionary tale because a lot of fans disparaged him for being effective during the season and then watching his teams tank during the post-season.  So he left and we got a guy who at Nevada took his teams further into the post-season than expected, but when he came to Stanford did ok but not spectacularly and when the AD treated him like he did ok but not spectacularly he bolted.  The following coach struggled even to do ok.  And while I'm hopeful that Haase has brought what Montgomery had back to Stanford (players who have great fundamentals, work well as a team, execute effectively, etc.) we will see if he pulls it off.

Shaw has been here for 6+ seasons.  In his worst season to date, he won 8 games and took us to a bowl game.  That season "sucked" but if when I was a student someone offered me the possibility to root for a future Stanford team that occasionally "sucks" that much, I would have happily taken it.

BC

[BostonCard]

BTW, Mike Montgomery was an example of someone who sustainably maintained this environment (with the benefit of some players like Brevin as well). I don't think a Harbaugh-like personality is the only way to pull this off. Hopefully Shaw can find a good balance of this without changing who he is and what makes him (still) a great fit for Stanford.

Mike Montgomery is also a cautionary tale because a lot of fans disparaged him for being effective during the season and then watching his teams tank during the post-season.  So he left and we got a guy who at Nevada took his teams further into the post-season than expected, but when he came to Stanford did ok but not spectacularly and when the AD treated him like he did ok but not spectacularly he bolted.  The following coach struggled even to do ok.  And while I'm hopeful that Haase has brought what Montgomery had back to Stanford (players who have great fundamentals, work well as a team, execute effectively, etc.) we will see if he pulls it off.

Shaw has been here for 6+ seasons.  In his worst season to date, he won 8 games and took us to a bowl game.  That season "sucked" but if when I was a student someone offered me the possibility to root for a future Stanford team that occasionally "sucks" that much, I would have happily taken it.

BC