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Eric Woodyard
DETROIT — David Shaw was formally announced Tuesday as part of the Detroit Lions‘ 2025 coaching staff, his first formal coaching job since serving as Stanford’s head coach from 2011-22.
Shaw, 52, was hired by the Lions as passing game coordinator under a revamped offensive staff headed by new offensive coordinator John Morton, whose hiring was previously announced.
Shaw, Stanford’s all-time winningest coach who won four Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards, left the college ranks in 2022 and returned to the NFL last year. In 2024, he worked with the Denver Broncos in their front office as a senior personnel executive.
Shaw, who hasn’t coached in the NFL since 2005, will be entering his 10th coaching season in the professional ranks. In 2005, he was the wide receivers coach for the Baltimore Ravens and was their quarterbacks and wide receivers coach from 2002-04.
Before Baltimore, he served as the Oakland Raiders‘ quarterbacks coach in 2001 and offensive quality control coach (1998-2000). In 1997, Shaw was an offensive quality control coach with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Shaw’s father, Willie, served as the Lions’ defensive backs coach from 1985-88.
Former Texas running backs coach Tashard Choice has also been hired as the Lions’ new running backs coach while Scottie Montgomery will change to wide receivers and assistant head coach. Former Iowa assistant Tyler Roehl was named the Lions’ tight ends coach in his first NFL role.
Choice previously coached Lions star running back Jahmyr Gibbs at Georgia Tech from 2019-21 where they developed a great rapport.
Detroit is coming off a record-setting 15-win season while earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history. However, the Lions were bounced by the Washington Commanders in their playoff opener after receiving a first-round bye.
After the early playoff exit, head coach Dan Campbell’s coaching staff took a major hit with eight assistants taking new positions in the offseason — including defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears) — who both accepted head coaching roles.