Willie Lorenzo Shaw (born January 11, 1944) is a former American football player and coach who coached for a number of

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

teams. He is the father of former

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

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. Shaw later worked on jets at an electronics company before enrolling at the University of New Mexico. 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. 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.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Shaw began a long career as an assistant coach at a number of college and

teams, coaching defenses either as a secondary coach or

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

. Shaw coached for a total of 14 teams, with his longest

stints occurring with the Minnesota Vikings (two separate stints) and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

; collegiately, his longest tenures were at

(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.

Personal life

Shaw is the father of former

head coach David Shaw and the brother of 1960s

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

safety Nate Shaw.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Willie 1944 births Living people American football cornerbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Detroit Lions coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Long Beach State 49ers football coaches Minnesota Vikings coaches National Football League defensive coordinators New Mexico Lobos football players New Orleans Saints coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches San Diego Chargers coaches San Diego City Knights football coaches St. Louis Rams coaches High school football coaches in California San Diego State University alumni Players of American football from San Diego Sportspeople from Rapides Parish, Louisiana African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople