Willie Shaw

{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1944)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Willie Shaw

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|1|11}}

| birth_place = Glenmora, Louisiana, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| high_school = San Diego (CA) Lincoln

| college = New Mexico (1966–1968)

| pastcoaching =

San Diego City (1970–1973)
Assistant coach
San Diego HS (1973)
Assistant head coach
Stanford (1974)
Outside linebackers coach & special teams coordinator
Stanford (1975–1976)
Defensive backs coach
Long Beach State (1977–1978)
Defensive backs coach
Oregon (1979)
Linebackers coach
Arizona State (1980–1984)
Defensive backs coach
Detroit Lions ({{nfly|1985}}–{{nfly|1988}})
Defensive backs coach
Stanford (1989)
Defensive backs coach
Stanford (1990–1991)
Defensive coordinator
Minnesota Vikings ({{nfly|1992}}–{{nfly|1993}})
Defensive backs coach
San Diego Chargers ({{nfly|1994}})
Defensive backs coach
St. Louis Rams ({{nfly|1995}}–{{nfly|1996}})
Defensive coordinator
New Orleans Saints ({{nfly|1997}})
Defensive backs coach
Oakland Raiders ({{nfly|1998}}–{{nfly|1999}})
Defensive coordinator
Kansas City Chiefs ({{nfly|2000}})
Assistant head coach & defensive backs coach
Minnesota Vikings ({{nfly|2001}}–{{nfly|2002}})
Assistant head coach & defensive backs coach

| highlights =

| pfrcoach = ShawWi0

}}

Willie Lorenzo Shaw (born January 11, 1944) is a former American football player and coach who coached for a number of NFL and college football teams. He is the father of former Stanford head coach David Shaw.

Early life and playing career

Born in Glenmora, Louisiana, Shaw served in the United States Air Force after graduating from Lincoln High School in San Diego. Serving in the Vietnam War, Shaw rose to the rank of Sergeant.{{cite web|last1=Maisel|first1=Ivan|title=David Shaw fulfills father's dream|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/preview11/story/_/id/6897811/college-football-preview-david-shaw-fulfills-father-willie-shaw-dream-stanford|publisher=ESPN|access-date=July 1, 2015|date=August 26, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Willie Shaw|publisher=Minnesota Vikings|url=http://www.vikings.com/Coaches/WillieShaw.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20021009063605/http://www.vikings.com/Coaches/WillieShaw.htm|archivedate=October 9, 2002}} Shaw later worked on jets at an electronics company before enrolling at the University of New Mexico.{{cite web|last1=Murray|first1=Ken|title=Raiders' defense getting big push|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/11/07/raiders-defense-getting-big-push-shaw-is-instilling-aggressive-approach-as-units-coordinator/|website=Baltimore Sun|access-date=July 1, 2015|date=November 7, 1998}} From 1966 to 1968, Shaw lettered in football for the New Mexico Lobos and was an All-Western Athletic Conference cornerback and an All-America honorable mention cornerback.{{cite news

|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F8wnAAAAIBAJ&pg=1852,6195784

|title=Oregon hires football assistant

|date=March 20, 1979

|accessdate=January 17, 2011

|newspaper=The Register-Guard

}} Shaw then transferred to San Diego State University, where he did not play football but earned his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1971 and later a master's degree in physical education in 1973.{{cite web|title=Stanford Cardinal|url=http://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19911026-01.2.9&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------#|website=Cardinal Today|page=4|date=October 26, 1991}}

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Shaw began a long career as an assistant coach at a number of college and NFL teams, coaching defenses either as a secondary coach or defensive coordinator.{{cite news

|url=http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/011411aaa.html

|last=McCauley

|first=Janie

|title=Shaw's influence

|publisher=Associated Press

}} Shaw coached for a total of 14 teams, with his longest NFL stints occurring with the Minnesota Vikings (two separate stints) and the Detroit Lions; collegiately, his longest tenures were at Stanford (two separate stints) and at Arizona State. In his second stint at Stanford, he was a finalist for the head coach position in 1992 that eventually went to Bill Walsh.{{cite news

|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5fhVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6252,6648071

|title=A difference between 6 and 7

|last=Withers

|first=Bud

|date=November 22, 1980

|accessdate=January 17, 2011

|newspaper=The Register-Guard

}}{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/wires/01/14/2060.ap.fbc.stanford.shaw.s.influence.1st.ld.writethru.1079|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117123544/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/wires/01/14/2060.ap.fbc.stanford.shaw.s.influence.1st.ld.writethru.1079/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2011|title=Stanford's Shaw has long been groomed for coaching|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=January 14, 2011}}

Personal life

Shaw is the father of former Stanford head coach David Shaw and the brother of 1960s USC safety Nate Shaw.{{cite web|url=http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/shaw_david00.html|title=Bio: David Shaw|publisher=Stanford University Department of Athletics|accessdate=January 13, 2011}}{{cite press release|url=http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/011311aaa.html|title=David Shaw Named Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football/Head Coach|publisher=Stanford University Department of Athletics|date=January 13, 2011}}