College Football: Ranking 10 best head coaches from past 5 seasons

7. David Shaw (Stanford)

David Shaw did what his predecessor was unable to do at Stanford and that was to win a Pac-12 title. He won the Pac-12 for the third time in 2015 — an impressive achievement for a program with very elite academic standards and he had captured the first conference championship for Stanford since 1999.

Moreover, he won two Pac-12 North titles during these past five seasons.

Shaw has accomplished much success as his time as the head of the Cardinal program and has won at least nine games in four of the past five years. He could have left to go to a more high-profile program but has stayed at Stanford and has built a very strong and stable program.

During the past five seasons, Shaw and his football program have been successful but he has had more prosperity and triumphs as a coach for his program if this ranking was over a 10-year period as opposed to this five-year period. In 2015, Shaw and the Cardinals team did very well and after a season-opening loss won eight straight games and won their division and conference that season on their way to a 12-win season that was capped with a Rose Bowl victory.

The following season was not bad by any means as Shaw and his team defeated all three fellow California-based Pac-12 schools that season to win 10 games including winning their bowl game. In 2017, Stanford and Shaw did lose five games but they won the Pac-12 North and almost beat USC in the conference championship game as they lost by only three points. They played well in their bowl game but lost to TCU by two in a high-scoring affair.

The last two seasons have not gone as well for Shaw and Stanford, though.

The 2018 season started off positively for Shaw and the Cardinal as they won their first four games beating two top-20 ranked teams but then Stanford had some difficulties in the following weeks. The Cardinal would end up losing four of their next five games which ended their hopes to win the Pac-12 North. His team, however, did win their final four games including their bowl game to end the season.

Last season, the Cardinal did not have have a good year. They finished tied for last in the Pac-12 North, they lost five of their last six games and only won four games in 2019.

Shaw and the Cardinal have had their ups and downs in the past five years but they have done more than many teams around the country have accomplished in this time period.

Point breakdown for Shaw

• 0 National Championships: 0 points
• 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
• 1 regular-season conference title: 30 points
• 2 division titles: 40 points
• 3 bowl wins: 30 points
• 4 bowl appearances: 20 points
• 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points

Total coaching points: 130

Coaching highlights over the past five seasons

• Shaw led the Cardinals to a Rose Bowl victory in 2015
• 1 Pac-12 title (2015)
• 2 Pac-12 North titles (2015, 2017)