Mike Silver was on NFL Network and had a tip for San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York on his search for a new head coach. He wants York to take a little drive up the road and visit with Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw.
"Jed York is under fire and with good reason," Silver said. "He chose Trent Baalke over Jim Harbaugh. He chose Jim Tomsula over Adam Gase. He chose Chip Kelly over Hue Jackson. He needs to hit this one and the GM hire is important, but if you want to save the day in San Francisco, take your car up the road, quietly meet with David Shaw at Stanford with a big bad of money and make your case.
This is a guy that has not only done a phenomenal job in college, as much as it pains me to say that but has NFL ties. And people say, 'Why would he ever leave?' And I understand that, but David Shaw's father Willie was a long time NFL coach in a less enlightened time and was denied, I believe, a lot of great opportunities. He should have been a head coach, I think. If that was my dad and I could come back to the league that denied my dad as the man that could make it all awesome, I would listen. So I think you have that conversation first and then look at this otherwise exciting pool of candidates."
"You don't even have to move, David Shaw," Silver added. "It's right there for you. Jim Harbaugh did it. You could be next."
Shaw's name was linked to the 49ers during their head coaching search following the 2015 season. However, in January of last year, Jon Wilner of Bay Area News Group reported that Shaw had no plans to interview with San Francisco.
Shaw has been the head coach at Stanford since the departure of Jim Harbaugh for the 49ers in 2011. Prior to that, he served as the Cardinal's offensive coordinator. During his time there, he has won three Pac-12 championships and been voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year three times. Shaw, who is currently earning a salary of $3.9 million, has an overall record of 64-17 with Stanford and a Bowl record of 4-2.