[Treebound]

I will say one thing. I had no idea Shaw was that highly compensated. (I assume those figures are accurate).
For that kind of money, I think we do have a right to some pretty high expectations of him.

Look at how far we have come, thanks in large part to Bob Bowlsby, Etch and Hennessy.  We paid bargain basement rates for Jim Harbaugh and discovered he was a turn around artist with EUTM.  Even some of the harshest critics on the boot, didn't think Bob would pull the cord.  He did and we have all celebrated Stanford's rise.  IRS form 990 was a form that was not to be touched by athletics, but Bob thankfully started to break down that way of thinking, once it became obvious that Harbaugh was going to be a target of other programs (remember Ty to ND).  Would we continue to be a stepping stone? No! 

I will point to the Orange Bowl as a key turning point, watching Hennessy soak up the good will on Miami Beach after a fantastic win.  I think he realized the good will that football can deliver to a broad Stanford community and how the University might harness that for the greater good.   

Many here and on the boot thought that Stanford would never touch "the arms race" for coaching salaries.  Times have changed.  Shaw is a great fit and a Stanford man.  If he stays like Tara and Nine and creates the legacy that I think he can, I'm fine with paying him his due.  I'm also fine with looking at him with a critical eye.  He's still learning on the job (Rose Bowl vs Michigan State, Fiesta Bowl, H award misses, etc...), but he's our very, very good coach and I wouldn't want anyone else at the helm.  I just hope that MTL continues what Hennessy started and that at some point we make the CFP.  To be thinking in those terms, it's amazing to me and I am incredibly thankful.

[Treebound]

I will say one thing. I had no idea Shaw was that highly compensated. (I assume those figures are accurate).
For that kind of money, I think we do have a right to some pretty high expectations of him.

Look at how far we have come, thanks in large part to Bob Bowlsby, Etch and Hennessy.  We paid bargain basement rates for Jim Harbaugh and discovered he was a turn around artist with EUTM.  Even some of the harshest critics on the boot, didn't think Bob would pull the cord.  He did and we have all celebrated Stanford's rise.  IRS form 990 was a form that was not to be touched by athletics, but Bob thankfully started to break down that way of thinking, once it became obvious that Harbaugh was going to be a target of other programs (remember Ty to ND).  Would we continue to be a stepping stone? No! 

I will point to the Orange Bowl as a key turning point, watching Hennessy soak up the good will on Miami Beach after a fantastic win.  I think he realized the good will that football can deliver to a broad Stanford community and how the University might harness that for the greater good.   

Many here and on the boot thought that Stanford would never touch "the arms race" for coaching salaries.  Times have changed.  Shaw is a great fit and a Stanford man.  If he stays like Tara and Nine and creates the legacy that I think he can, I'm fine with paying him his due.  I'm also fine with looking at him with a critical eye.  He's still learning on the job (Rose Bowl vs Michigan State, Fiesta Bowl, H award misses, etc...), but he's our very, very good coach and I wouldn't want anyone else at the helm.  I just hope that MTL continues what Hennessy started and that at some point we make the CFP.  To be thinking in those terms, it's amazing to me and I am incredibly thankful.