Former Broncos HC candidate will help the team get back to winning after all

Former Stanford head coach David Shaw has joined the Denver Broncos as a senior personnel executive, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Shaw was interviewed as a candidate for the Broncos head coaching gig following the firing of Nate Hackett in 2023 but ultimately did not progress far in the head coaching search.

Shaw, 51, has deep ties to the Broncos on several fronts, including ownership and the coaching staff. Shaw has spent the entirety of his collegiate head coaching career at Stanford, the alma mater of Broncos partial owner Condoleezza Rice. Rice has been a supporter of Shaw over the years, both in the professional and personal arena as a member of the Stanford community. Rice remains a part of the Stanford community as the director of the school's Hoover Institute, and her support of Shaw was steady during his tenure as the Cardinal head coach.

On the coaching staff, Shaw has connections with head coach Sean Payton that go back almost 25 years. Shaw and Payton first worked together during their days with the Eagles. Shaw and Payton both held roles on the 1997-98 Eagles coaching staff, with Payton as the team's quarterbacks coach and Shaw as their offensive quality control coach. Payton spoke highly of Shaw and their time together.

Payton has recounted that he and Shaw shared an office together, and grew close over their year.

Payton has now reunited with multiple former colleagues on the Broncos staff this summer. Shaw will join former Saints coach Pete Carmichael as a former Payton colleague reuniting in Denver. Shaw and Payton haven't worked together since 1997, but the two are set to resume their relationship this year as Shaw helps Payton fill out his roster for his second season in Denver.

Shaw will specifically be helping the Broncos identify talent on both the college and pro sides, so he could end up having a significant voice beneath general manager George Paton.