David Shaw is headed back to the sideline.
The former Stanford head coach is joining the Detroit Lions as passing game coordinator, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported.
Shaw left football entirely after the 2022 season, stepping down from his position as Stanford head coach before accepting a job with NFL Network. He returned to football as a senior personnel executive with the Denver Broncos in 2024, where he served in the same organization as new Lions offensive coordinator John Morton, who filled the passing game coordinator role under Sean Payton with the Broncos in 2023 and 2024.
Shaw cut his teeth as an assistant at Western Washington in 1995 and bounced between the NFL and collegiate ranks over the decade before settling in in Palo Alto, where he rose from offensive coordinator to head coach at Stanford in 2011. He held that job from 2011-2022 posting double-digit win totals in five of his first six seasons before the program declined, falling from 9-4 in 2018 to 4-8 in 2019. He resigned after two consecutive 3-9 finishes with the Cardinal in 2021 and 2022.
2025 will mark Shaw's first coaching job since then.
He heads to the Motor City as part of a revamped staff for the Lions, who watched both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn leave for head coaching jobs elsewhere in 2025 following a 15-2 finish and Divisional Round exit from the playoffs. Judging by the news of his hire, Shaw will replace Tanner Engstand, who served as Lions passing game coordinator in 2023 and 2024, but has emerged as the favorite for the Jets offensive coordinator job, per Pelissero.
