The Denver Broncos are hiring former Stanford coach David Shaw as a senior personnel executive, the team announced Thursday. Shaw will assist the Broncos and general manager George Paton in the evaluation of both college and pro personnel.
Shaw led the Cardinal from 2011 to 2022, helping produce 42 NFL Draft picks and six first-round selections over that span. He garnered a 96-54 record en route to being named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year four times.
Before his time at Stanford, Shaw spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach in the NFL.
Shaw previously interviewed for the Broncos’ head-coaching position in 2023, a job that ultimately went to Sean Payton, and will now join the organization in a front office that has been beefed up this offseason. The Broncos previously hired Cody Rager, a former New Orleans executive who had previously worked with Payton, as the team’s new vice president of player personnel.
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Shaw’s career as an NFL assistant also intertwined with Payton, who was the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997 when Shaw was working as a quality control assistant.
The Broncos ownership group has close ties to Stanford. Both Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner received master’s degrees from the institution and limited shareholder Condoleezza Rice served as an educator at the school. The group was impressed by Shaw during the interview process that took place roughly 18 months ago and remained in contact with the coach who led Stanford to two Rose Bowl victories during his tenure.
Required reading
- David Shaw’s end at Stanford: Lost identity and complacency derail a golden run
- Reviving the Broncos: A look at the Walton-Penner Group’s approach through 2 years
- What the Broncos learned about rookie QB Bo Nix during first offseason program
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
