[msqueri]

The "reason" Stanford cannot compete with Minnesota and Oregon State is the disregard (bordering on disdain) most people at Stanford have for big-time college football.

It's a leadership problem that extends far beyond Shaw, imo.

And your argument is that this is qualitatively different than when our athletic director said "we're not Nebraska"? Perhaps. I could buy that. Even then, the answer is to say "F 'em" and hope that a new coach can go all Major League on their asses. All it takes is somebody competent. Minnesota and Oregon State have disadvantages we don't and limitations on how much can be invested in being big-time just like we do. With the right coach we can easily compete with them.

The real obstacle is that if the university's disdain for major college football extends to the point of wanting to keep Shaw in power precisely so we wouldn't have a chance of showing again that the Stanford model can compete in this brave new world. That would be insidious. Maybe it's the case. But if he ever departs Stanford and we continue to field a major college football team, an administration could have disdain for college football such that they force the athletic director to hire a coach on the cheap, and the athletic director could hire a Group of Five or FCS coach as a result, and that coach could succeed. That's not beyond us. Brent Brennan or Troy Taylor could be our Lou Brown.

[msqueri]

The "reason" Stanford cannot compete with Minnesota and Oregon State is the disregard (bordering on disdain) most people at Stanford have for big-time college football.

It's a leadership problem that extends far beyond Shaw, imo.

And your argument is that this is qualitatively different than when our athletic director said "we're not Nebraska"? Perhaps. I could buy that. Even then, the answer is to say "F 'em" and hope that a new coach can go all Major League on their asses. All it takes is somebody competent. Minnesota and Oregon State have disadvantages we don't and limitations on how much can be invested in being big-time just like we do. With the right coach we can easily compete with them.

The real obstacle is that if the university's disdain for major college football extends to the point of wanting to keep Shaw in power precisely so we wouldn't have a chance of showing again that the Stanford model can compete in this brave new world. That would be insidious. Maybe it's the case. But if he ever departs Stanford and we continue to field a major college football team, an administration could have disdain for college football such that they force the athletic director to hire a coach on the cheap, and the athletic director could hire a Group of Five or FCS coach as a result, and that coach could succeed. That's not beyond us. Brent Brennan or Troy Taylor could be our Lou Brown.