[CornFed]

The point that doug raised, which has been roiling around in my brain in recent weeks, is the issue of culture within the team.  As someone who is not privy to the inner workings of the team, my concerns are only conjecture.  But the deterioration of the team's overall performance continually has triggered these thoughts for me.

When Harbaugh was announced as the new head coach, who among us was instantly seduced by his comments regarding his goals for a national championship, much less a PAC12 championship?  My first reaction was bemusement.  Stanford had had top-notch head coaches in the past.  Some of them had achieved truly great things.  John Ralston, Bill Walsh, Dennis Green.  They provided legends and priceless memories to one extent or another.  Yet no one in my experience ever talked even remotely seriously about national championships for a Stanford football team.  No one.  Ever.

Furthermore, our consistent historical identity related to some distant memories of legendary QB's like Plunkett, Bunce, Brodie, Bunce, Elway.  We were, for a time, "QB U" and were seen as a "finesse" team with occasionally great skill position players, but lacking the physical strength and team speed of the annual contenders for the national championship.  Which was why the gigantic upsets of teams like Ohio State (purported by SI to be the greatest team in college football history) in the 1971 Rose Bowl were so epic.

This all changed under Jim Harbaugh.  For all his foibles and idiosyncrasies, Jim Harbaugh delivered an experience which gave rise to realistic notions of a national championship.  Without the benefit of the time needed to assemble much of his own talent he crafted the The Greatest Upset of All Time.  Much of that incredible outcome was achieved by convincing the players that they were capable of INTIMIDATING other teams.  They saw themselves as tougher, harder-working and more in shape than ANYONE they faced.  Whether or not that was initially true or not, the players actually believed it, and, for a while, it was true.

David Shaw is not that kind of maniacal force.  On the contrary, he is quite cerebral about most things about which I have seen him speak.  While that is far more appealing to me personally, I can see where that does not necessarily generate the conquering rampage that Harbaugh personified.  Inspirational people in a field like football do not necessarily create that expression purely verbally.  Harbaugh's participation in field drills is an example that exemplifies pure emotion.

Right now, I feel we have a quality head coach.  He is still pretty young.  Perhaps he is trying to implement a Harbaugh mentality when it really doesn't play to his persona.  I hope that he remains our head coach for a very long time and evolves to an expression of his own type of football.  I further hope that 2014 is the "shock" to him that such an evolution is needed and can be successful.

[CornFed]

The point that doug raised, which has been roiling around in my brain in recent weeks, is the issue of culture within the team.  As someone who is not privy to the inner workings of the team, my concerns are only conjecture.  But the deterioration of the team's overall performance continually has triggered these thoughts for me.

When Harbaugh was announced as the new head coach, who among us was instantly seduced by his comments regarding his goals for a national championship, much less a PAC12 championship?  My first reaction was bemusement.  Stanford had had top-notch head coaches in the past.  Some of them had achieved truly great things.  John Ralston, Bill Walsh, Dennis Green.  They provided legends and priceless memories to one extent or another.  Yet no one in my experience ever talked even remotely seriously about national championships for a Stanford football team.  No one.  Ever.

Furthermore, our consistent historical identity related to some distant memories of legendary QB's like Plunkett, Bunce, Brodie, Bunce, Elway.  We were, for a time, "QB U" and were seen as a "finesse" team with occasionally great skill position players, but lacking the physical strength and team speed of the annual contenders for the national championship.  Which was why the gigantic upsets of teams like Ohio State (purported by SI to be the greatest team in college football history) in the 1971 Rose Bowl were so epic.

This all changed under Jim Harbaugh.  For all his foibles and idiosyncrasies, Jim Harbaugh delivered an experience which gave rise to realistic notions of a national championship.  Without the benefit of the time needed to assemble much of his own talent he crafted the The Greatest Upset of All Time.  Much of that incredible outcome was achieved by convincing the players that they were capable of INTIMIDATING other teams.  They saw themselves as tougher, harder-working and more in shape than ANYONE they faced.  Whether or not that was initially true or not, the players actually believed it, and, for a while, it was true.

David Shaw is not that kind of maniacal force.  On the contrary, he is quite cerebral about most things about which I have seen him speak.  While that is far more appealing to me personally, I can see where that does not necessarily generate the conquering rampage that Harbaugh personified.  Inspirational people in a field like football do not necessarily create that expression purely verbally.  Harbaugh's participation in field drills is an example that exemplifies pure emotion.

Right now, I feel we have a quality head coach.  He is still pretty young.  Perhaps he is trying to implement a Harbaugh mentality when it really doesn't play to his persona.  I hope that he remains our head coach for a very long time and evolves to an expression of his own type of football.  I further hope that 2014 is the "shock" to him that such an evolution is needed and can be successful.