Previously, Shaw was a four-year letter winner as a wide receiver for the Cardinal from 1991 to 1994, where he was coached by Dennis Green and Bill Walsh.
[2] Shaw was born in San Diego, California and moved with his family around the country following his father Willie's career as an NFL coach.
[4] In 1989, Willie accepted a coaching job at Stanford University and the family moved back to the Bay Area where David ultimately graduated from James Logan High School in Union City, California.
[4][5] He went on to attend Stanford University, where he played college football as a wide receiver under head coaches Dennis Green and Bill Walsh.
In 1997, Shaw began a nine-year run as an NFL assistant coach with stints for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens.
[3] As the Raiders' quality control from 1998 to 2000 and quarterbacks coach in 2001, the team won two consecutive AFC West titles and completed a 10–6 regular season.
[1] In 2006, Shaw left the NFL for the University of San Diego to join head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff as passing game coordinator.
[3] Shaw's unit performed successfully during his years as coordinator, led by 2010 Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck.