[Brickcity]

Would you have started Tavita Pritchard or true freshman Andrew Luck in 2008? I'm pretty sure that was Harbaugh's call, and he chose TP (and the team finished 5-7). TP was 147-254 (57.9%) for 1633 yds, 10 TDs and 13 INTs in 12 games. As I recall, there were some folks calling for a QB change that year.

I can't believe I have to write this, but it's ludicrous to suggest that David Shaw is not competitive. Poor decision-maker re: personnel? He's not perfect, but more often than not he's right. Maybe it's his level demeanor that makes folks think he doesn't care, but I can guarantee you that he knows a lot more about coaching than anyone on this discussion board. He's the winningest coach in school history, won the Pac-12 North 4 times, the Pac-12 CG 3 times, won 2 out of 3 Rose Bowls, 4x conference Coach of the Year, etc. That's a pretty impressive resume for someone who's not competitive!

I'm not suggesting that Shaw isn't more competitive than the average person off the street. I'm sure he is. But, I don't think he's competitive by the standard of a D1 head coach. His teams up through 2013 still included a lot of Harbaugh's recruits, and I imagine retained much of the culture of the previous regime. Even the players on 2015 were indirectly due to Harbaugh. Look at it this way: even younger players like Christian McCaffrey - sophomores - had been a senior in high school in 2013, watching Stanford's success and thus feeling drawn to the school (well, he and others in his class who didn't have fathers who starred at the school.) The point being that the guys on that team had watched the success of Stanford in 2012 and 2013, when Stanford still had a ton of Harbaugh's players. 

That's my long way of saying that, while Shaw should obviously get some credit for those Pac-12 championships, much of it should go to Harbaugh. Put it another way: had Shaw (instead of Harbaugh) been the head coach in 2007, what kind of seasons do you think he would have had in the ensuing years? My guess is that most of them would have been losing seasons.

His lack of competitiveness extends not just to selecting a weaker QB to start but also refusing to hire an accomplished offensive coordinator whom he could hand play calling duties over to. But, he'd rather lose more games and be "in control" than win more games and have to admit he's not that good an offensive coordinator.

[Brickcity]

Would you have started Tavita Pritchard or true freshman Andrew Luck in 2008? I'm pretty sure that was Harbaugh's call, and he chose TP (and the team finished 5-7). TP was 147-254 (57.9%) for 1633 yds, 10 TDs and 13 INTs in 12 games. As I recall, there were some folks calling for a QB change that year.

I can't believe I have to write this, but it's ludicrous to suggest that David Shaw is not competitive. Poor decision-maker re: personnel? He's not perfect, but more often than not he's right. Maybe it's his level demeanor that makes folks think he doesn't care, but I can guarantee you that he knows a lot more about coaching than anyone on this discussion board. He's the winningest coach in school history, won the Pac-12 North 4 times, the Pac-12 CG 3 times, won 2 out of 3 Rose Bowls, 4x conference Coach of the Year, etc. That's a pretty impressive resume for someone who's not competitive!

I'm not suggesting that Shaw isn't more competitive than the average person off the street. I'm sure he is. But, I don't think he's competitive by the standard of a D1 head coach. His teams up through 2013 still included a lot of Harbaugh's recruits, and I imagine retained much of the culture of the previous regime. Even the players on 2015 were indirectly due to Harbaugh. Look at it this way: even younger players like Christian McCaffrey - sophomores - had been a senior in high school in 2013, watching Stanford's success and thus feeling drawn to the school (well, he and others in his class who didn't have fathers who starred at the school.) The point being that the guys on that team had watched the success of Stanford in 2012 and 2013, when Stanford still had a ton of Harbaugh's players. 

That's my long way of saying that, while Shaw should obviously get some credit for those Pac-12 championships, much of it should go to Harbaugh. Put it another way: had Shaw (instead of Harbaugh) been the head coach in 2007, what kind of seasons do you think he would have had in the ensuing years? My guess is that most of them would have been losing seasons.

His lack of competitiveness extends not just to selecting a weaker QB to start but also refusing to hire an accomplished offensive coordinator whom he could hand play calling duties over to. But, he'd rather lose more games and be "in control" than win more games and have to admit he's not that good an offensive coordinator.