You might not have heard of David Shaw before I wrote his name in this sentence, but he is very much in the running to take over for Jim Harbaugh as head coach of the Stanford Cardinal. According to Elliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News, the former offensive coordinator is supposedly winning his case with the most important people when considering a new coaching candidate--the players in the Cardinal locker room. Tim Kawakami is also reporting that Shaw is the favorite.
His resume is impressive but hardly earth-shattering; he has nine years of NFL experience as a position coordinator, with the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Oakland Raiders. His most prominent work is with Rich Gannon and the Raiders as quarterbacks coach in 2001, leading them to a 10-6 record, AFC West title, and one Tuck Rule away from the AFC Championship.
With Shaw working as the offensive coordinator, the Cardinal offense has made drastic improvements, turning around from the dregs of the conference to becoming one of the top offenses in the Pac-10. It's hard to say how much of that was due to the incredible recruiting of Harbaugh and talents of playmakers like Andrew Luck and Toby Gerhart. Shaw might get his chance soon enough.