[Brickcity]

As for Shaw, he ain't called "Davey Coattails" for nothing: Bob, I think you could have taken those Stanford teams to the three Rose Bowls with those rosters and group of assistants...but might have won the game against Michigan State!

No disrespect for BobK, but no, he couldn't.  I think Stanford fans should respect what David Shaw was able to accomplish during his tenure as head coach.  Being head coach of a D1 football team is an extremely difficult job.  There are many examples of coaches taking over successful programs and failing right out of the gate.  Shaw inherited a strong program from Harbaugh and took it to a higher level.  Give the guy his due. He respected the program enough to step away when he felt that he could no longer lead it back to elite status.  Not many coaches do that, but rather wait to get fired.  

IMO, it's fair game to condemn Shaw for allowing the program to fall apart with poor recruiting and poor staffing.  Hate him for that and drag him over the coals if you want.  But don't take away all the good things he did for this program and hand them to Harbaugh.  Shaw had this program competing at the highest level in his 5th and 6th years as head coach.  In his 5th year, we won the Rose Bowl and finished the season ranked #3.

Marty, I have no "hate" for Shaw. I met him once and he was as nice as can be. Really liked my interaction with him. 

But, no, I can't give him much if any credit for those first few years. First, he didn't take Stanford to a "higher level." Stanford was ranked 4th in the country following the Orange Bowl victory. Now, I won't BLAME Shaw for not elevating Stanford - that's going a bit far - but he certainly didn't take them to a higher level. More important to this discussion is that he let the program go into the dumpster fire. And, I believe the only reason he resigned was because he knew his reputation was in tatters - as you probably noticed, the national media FINALLY began to call him out late in the season. Moreover, it's not out of the question that Muir might have given him a gentle push along the lines of, "David, we need to make a change but, of course, this will be positioned as a resignation."

[Brickcity]

As for Shaw, he ain't called "Davey Coattails" for nothing: Bob, I think you could have taken those Stanford teams to the three Rose Bowls with those rosters and group of assistants...but might have won the game against Michigan State!

No disrespect for BobK, but no, he couldn't.  I think Stanford fans should respect what David Shaw was able to accomplish during his tenure as head coach.  Being head coach of a D1 football team is an extremely difficult job.  There are many examples of coaches taking over successful programs and failing right out of the gate.  Shaw inherited a strong program from Harbaugh and took it to a higher level.  Give the guy his due. He respected the program enough to step away when he felt that he could no longer lead it back to elite status.  Not many coaches do that, but rather wait to get fired.  

IMO, it's fair game to condemn Shaw for allowing the program to fall apart with poor recruiting and poor staffing.  Hate him for that and drag him over the coals if you want.  But don't take away all the good things he did for this program and hand them to Harbaugh.  Shaw had this program competing at the highest level in his 5th and 6th years as head coach.  In his 5th year, we won the Rose Bowl and finished the season ranked #3.

Marty, I have no "hate" for Shaw. I met him once and he was as nice as can be. Really liked my interaction with him. 

But, no, I can't give him much if any credit for those first few years. First, he didn't take Stanford to a "higher level." Stanford was ranked 4th in the country following the Orange Bowl victory. Now, I won't BLAME Shaw for not elevating Stanford - that's going a bit far - but he certainly didn't take them to a higher level. More important to this discussion is that he let the program go into the dumpster fire. And, I believe the only reason he resigned was because he knew his reputation was in tatters - as you probably noticed, the national media FINALLY began to call him out late in the season. Moreover, it's not out of the question that Muir might have given him a gentle push along the lines of, "David, we need to make a change but, of course, this will be positioned as a resignation."