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(2) David Shaw
Current Position: Head Coach at Stanford University
Specialty: Offense
- Currently 41 years old. If he were in the NFL today he would be the 4th youngest head coach (Dennis Allen, Mike Tomlin, Mike McCoy).
- Illustrious coaching career for a young coach. Shaw has been coaching in various capacities in the college and pro ranks for 19 years. He spent his first two years (1995, 1996) in Western Washington before moving to the NFL in 1997. After 9 years with the Eagles, Raiders, and Ravens as either QC, QB, or WR coach, Shaw went back to his alma mater Stanford to be their offensive coordinator in 2007. For the last three years, Shaw has been the head coach at Stanford.
- Learned under great coaches before him. Not only did Shaw coach under Brian Billick, Jon Gruden, and Jim Harbaugh, he also played wide receiver for Stanford under Bill Walsh.
- Has an offensive background but emphasizes defense. Shaw is the offensive play-caller in Stanford, yet his defense is worth boasting about. Stanford has ranked 11th and 9th in the nation in points against each of the last two years under his guidance.
- Consistent success in all three years as the head coach of Stanford. He led Stanford to Pac-12 Championships in each of the last two years and was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012. He'll be looking to lead Stanford to their 2nd straight Rose Bowl victory on New Year's Day 2014.
- Conservative offensive play-caller.
- Calm demeanor. A "stay medium" kind of coach.
- Brings structure and a cerebral approach to the game.
- Committed to Stanford and signed a contract extension in 2012.
(3) Mike Zimmer
Current Position: Defensive Coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals
Specialty: Defense
- Son of former NFL player Bill Zimmer.
- His first coaching job was as a Defensive Assistant at the University of Missouri from 1979-1980
- From 1981-1988, Zimmer coached at Weber State College. He was the Inside Linebackers Coach from '81-'84. and he was the Defensive Backs Coach from '85-'88 all while being the Defensive Coordinator from '83-88
- Zimmer was the Defensive Coordinator for the Washington State Cougars from 1989-1993. In 1993, the Cougars defense was ranked 8th in the nation in total defense and 2nd in the nation in rushing defense
- In 1994, was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an Assistant Coach of the Nickel defense under Barry Switzer. He was promoted to Defensive Backs Coach in 1995 and held that position until he was promoted to Defensive Coordinator in 2000
- The 2003 Dallas Cowboys gave up the fewest yards in the NFL while running an aggressive 4-3 defense
- Zimmer survived several coaching changes in Dallas (Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, and Bill Parcells)
- In 2005, Zimmer implemented the 3-4 defense that was favored by Parcells
- In 2007, Zimmer agreed to join Bobby Petrino's staff as the Defensive Coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. Zimmer is still mad about Petrino's NFL exit after just 13 games
- Was hired as the Defensive Coordinator of the Bengals in 2008
- In 2009, Zimmer earned NFL Assistant Coach of the Year honors from Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers and CBSSports.com after leading the Bengals to the 4th ranked defense in the league
- In 2011, Bengals had the 7th ranked defense in the NFL. In 2012,Bengals finished with the 6th ranked defense in the NFL
- Cleveland Browns interviewed him for their Head Coaching vacancy before hiring Rob Chudzinski
Feel free to add any additional information/stories about either candidate in the comments section and it may be added to their bio.
