[yvonne]

The issue is whether his tenure would have been as impressive had he not succeeded Harbaugh.  What would Shaw have done if, in a hypothetical universe, he had succeeded Harris in 2007?  Would he have won two conference titles and a Rose Bowl in his first three seasons?  I have a very hard time believing so.  What would you say?

That's not the issue at all. Shaw isn't tasked with building a program from scratch. His job is to sustain and build success of the existing program.

The same question could be asked about the Oregon program. Could Chip Kelly have succeeded without the foundation Mike Belotti built? We don't know, but that wasn't his job. His job was to use the reputation Belotti built, along with the facilities available through Phil Knight to sustain and improve on that success. Most programs with sustained success have that continued success because they've built an infrastructure of donors, facilities, reputation, recruiting, and even a certain ethos. Coaches in programs with sustained success aren't expected to build the program from the ground up.

[yvonne]

The issue is whether his tenure would have been as impressive had he not succeeded Harbaugh.  What would Shaw have done if, in a hypothetical universe, he had succeeded Harris in 2007?  Would he have won two conference titles and a Rose Bowl in his first three seasons?  I have a very hard time believing so.  What would you say?

That's not the issue at all. Shaw isn't tasked with building a program from scratch. His job is to sustain and build success of the existing program.

The same question could be asked about the Oregon program. Could Chip Kelly have succeeded without the foundation Mike Belotti built? We don't know, but that wasn't his job. His job was to use the reputation Belotti built, along with the facilities available through Phil Knight to sustain and improve on that success. Most programs with sustained success have that continued success because they've built an infrastructure of donors, facilities, reputation, recruiting, and even a certain ethos. Coaches in programs with sustained success aren't expected to build the program from the ground up.