Stanford promotes Shaw, in the name of keeping the band together

Stanford knew what it wanted in its successor for outgoing hero Jim Harbaugh, and today it has it: After token flirtation with Boise State's Chris Petersen, the Cardinal will stay in-house to promote offensive coordinator David Shaw to head coach, as expected. The university confirmed multiple reports of Shaw's promotion Thursday afternoon.

What Stanford wants, obviously, is someone to maintain the status quo for one more year. The moment All-American quarterback Andrew Luck decided to pass on the NFL to return to Palo Alto, the No. 1 priority became making that good fortune pay off. With Luck in tow on the heels of a 12-1, top-five finish – easily the school's best season since World War II – 2011 may be Stanford's only realistic chance at a Pac-12 championship in the foreseeable future, and a run at a national crown isn't out of the picture. If Harbaugh had hung around, in fact, the momentum of last week's 40-12 Orange Bowl rout over Virginia Tech might have propelled them among a handful of early frontrunners.

As it stands, Luck's return will have to negate the loss of not only Harbaugh, but three starting offensive linemen (including All-American Chase Beeler), his top two receivers, pile-driving fullback Owen Marecic, and 10 of the top 15 tacklers on defense. With Shaw's hiring, the Cardinal are also likely to lose fellow assistants Greg Roman (assistant head coach) and Vic Fangio (defensive coordinator), who were also up for the job and will probably join Harbaugh in San Francisco now that they've been passed over.

Shaw, 38, has never been a head coach, but he's been around the block on the West Coast. He was a wide receiver at Stanford in the early '90s, began his coaching career at Western Washington and spent four years with the Oakland Raiders (as well as four more with the Baltimore Ravens) before hooking up with Harbaugh at the University of San Diego in 2006. At Stanford, he's presided over the evolution of the Cardinal offense from one of the worst in the nation in 2006-07 to one of the best, highlighted by the emergence of two very different Heisman Trophy runners-up – Luck last year and thundering tailback Toby Gerhart in 2009 – in consecutive years.

But Shaw's most important qualification is simply that he's an inside man. He knows the players, he knows the recruits, he knows the daily routines and personalities of the program and he knows the offense that will be expected to carry the Cardinal back to double-digit wins in the fall, and possibly to the Rose Bowl. If they get there, whatever happens from that point on, it will be worth it.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Marley Shelton Thalía Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair