Shaw resigns after 12 seasons as Stanford coach
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Paolo UggettiESPN
Stanford head coach David Shaw has resigned after 12 seasons at his alma mater.
Shaw announced his decision to step down, effective immediately, after Saturday night’s 36-25 loss to BYU in Stanford’s season finale.
“I prayed about it, I thought about it,” Shaw said. “With every hour it seemed, it was more cemented in my head. The phrase that kept coming to me is: ‘It’s time.'”
Shaw, 50, said he had not considered resigning until earlier this past week and said he has no desire to coach another team at this point.
“I am not burnt out,” he said. “I’m healthy; I feel good. But 16 years is a long time. … 16 years of running a program, 16 years of being responsible for everything and everybody catches up to you.”
Shaw steps down as the winningest head coach in Stanford history with 96 career victories. His resignation comes after back-to-back 3-9 seasons and a stretch since 2019 where the Cardinal have gone 14-28.
Stanford is 3-16 in Pac-12 play the past two seasons, including consecutive losses to rival California.
“There are a lot of people that think this program is down. That’s what our record says,” said Shaw, who finished with a 96-54 record at Stanford. “But I look at the components. I look at the people here, the support that I’m hearing coming from our athletic director, from our university president, the people that are behind the scenes. We’re not that far away.”
“I would like to thank David for his immense contributions to Stanford,” athletic director Bernard Muir said in a statement. “David has represented Stanford football, as both a player and a coach, with unwavering grace, humility and integrity. He has cared tremendously for each and every student-athlete in his program while helping them pursue their full academic and athletic potential. David will forever remain a valued member of the Stanford football family and an integral part of the storied history of the program. I hope Cardinal fans everywhere will join me in thanking David and his family for their extraordinary years of service and wishing them all the best in their next chapter.”
Shaw, who played wide receiver for the Cardinal from 1991 to 1994, has been part of Stanford’s coaching staff since 2007. He first began as an offensive coordinator for four seasons before being promoted to the head-coaching job in 2011 after Jim Harbaugh departed for the NFL.
It didn’t take long for Shaw to succeed. During his first four seasons, he led Stanford to three Rose Bowls, including two victories, as well as three Pac-12 titles — and four Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards — during that span.
Shaw expressed Saturday how difficult the new college football landscape, with NIL and the transfer portal, has been for Stanford, but he did not acknowledge that was a reason for his departure.
“Stanford historically doesn’t change quickly,” he said. “We are methodical. … It’s been difficult, but it’s been difficult for everybody.”
Shaw said the transfer portal “will be very enticing” to current Stanford players upon his departure. Asked if he believes Stanford can return to the level it was at when he first took the job, Shaw said yes.
“Growth,” Shaw responded when asked what it will take for Stanford to bounce back. “And it’s not going to be immediate.”
The school stated it will immediately begin a national search to find a new coach.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Mark Schlabach
Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is expected to make a full recovery after doctors detected the disease in its early stages, the school announced Friday.
Freeze, 55, will continue coaching the Tigers while receiving treatment, Auburn officials said in a statement.
“Recently, Coach Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer,” the statement said. “Thankfully, it was detected early and his doctors have advised that it is very treatable and curable. He will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities, and with forthcoming proper treatment, is expected to make a full recovery.
“Coach Freeze is incredibly appreciative of our medical professionals and has asked that we use his experience as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing and scheduling annual health screenings.”
The Tigers are scheduled to start spring practice March 25.
Freeze’s teams went 11-14 (5-11 SEC) in his first two seasons, including a 5-7 campaign in 2024. With the additions of transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), wide receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest), offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech), and others, the Tigers are expected to be much improved this coming season.
At Liberty, Freeze coached from a hospital bed set up in the coaches’ box during the Flames’ 24-0 loss to Syracuse in his debut on Aug. 31, 2019. Freeze was recovering from surgery for a herniated disk in his back and a staph infection.
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Adam Rittenberg
Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler is leaving the school after six seasons to become quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Loeffler, 50, went 27-41 at Bowling Green but led the Falcons to bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons, posting a 16-10 record in MAC play during the span.
He will replace Doug Nussmeier, who left the Eagles with Kellen Moore to become the New Orleans Saints‘ offensive coordinator. Loeffler will work under new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who had been the team’s passing game coordinator and associate head coach.
“Scot has been dedicated to not only BGSU Football, but to all our student-athletes and BGSU Athletics, as well as our Falcon Marching Band and spirit programs,” university president Rodney Rogers said in a statement. “He cares deeply about player development and student success, and we wish him all the best as he continues his coaching career in the NFL with the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles.”
Loeffler returns to the NFL for the first time since 2008, when he coached quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions. A former Michigan quarterback, Loeffler coached QBs at his alma mater from 2002 to 2007 and also with Central Michigan and Florida. He first became an offensive coordinator with Temple in 2011 and made coordinator stops with Auburn, Virginia Tech and Boston College before landing his first head-coaching opportunity at Bowling Green.
The coaching change means Bowling Green players now have a 30-day window to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The Falcons had already lost three All-MAC performers to the portal in December in running back Terion Stewart (Virginia Tech), offensive tackle Alex Wollschlaeger (Kentucky) and linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. (Kansas). Bowling Green also is losing record-setting tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to the NFL draft.
Athletic director Derek van der Merwe will lead the search for Loeffler’s replacement. In a statement, Van der Merwe praised Loeffler for building “a very successful program in a challenging climate in collegiate sports.
“I am looking forward to this process of finding the next great leader for our program who embraces what it means to be a Falcon,” Van der Merwe added.
ESPN’s Max Olson contributed to this report.
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