Veteran offensive line coach Gordon “Gordy” Shaw enters his third season on the Warrior coaching staff.
In his first season coaching the offensive line in 2009, he tutored three players who earned free agent contracts with NFL teams – John Estes, Ray Hisatake, and Aaron Kia. Estes, one of six finalists for the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center, was also a first-team all-WAC selection for the third consecutive year. Kia was a second-team all-WAC pick. Last season, Laupepa Letuli and Adrian Thomas each earned second-team all-WAC honors.
Prior to UH, Shaw served as the offensive coordinator at South Dakota in 2008, when the Coyotes ranked fourth nationally in scoring offense (37.5 ppg), sixth in total offense (461.8 ypg) and seventh in rushing offense (240 ypg). In addition, Coyote quarterback Noah Shepard was 14th nationally in passing efficiency (147.22) and tied for 18th nationally with 13 rushing touchdowns.
Prior to South Dakota, Shaw spent 14 seasons at Minnesota where he coached both the offensive and defensive lines. Some of his pupils included Ben Hamilton, Greg Eslinger, Mark Setterstrom and Matt Spaeth, all of whom went on to play professionally in the NFL. Eslinger was a two-time All-American and all-Big Ten performer who won the Rimington Trophy and the Outland Trophy (nation’s best interior lineman) in 2005.
Eslinger and Setterstrom helped pave the way for tailbacks Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney to each rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (2003-04), the first time the feat was accomplished in NCAA history. Shaw’s unit also limited the opposition to nine sacks, the school’s lowest total since 1970. In 2003, the Gophers set the Big Ten record for total offense (6,430) and finished with the fourth-highest rushing total (3,759) and sixth-highest point total (503) in Big Ten history.
From 1997-2000, Shaw coached the Gopher defense which included future pros Karon Riley and John Schlecht. In 1999, he was named Nike Assistant Coach of the Year. Shaw began his tenure at Minnesota in 1993. During his 14 years at the school, he led Minnesota to seven bowl berths in eight years and five straight bowl bids starting in 2002. During that span, the team won 38 games, the most during a five-year span since 1903-07. In total, Shaw has coached in nine bowl games in his career.
Prior to Minnesota, Shaw coached at Wyoming, where he served as the offensive line coach from 1990-92. In 1990, the Cowboys compiled a 9-4 overall record and played in the Copper Bowl. In 1989, Shaw was the defensive coordinator at Idaho, helping the Vandals to a 9-2 record and conference championship.
Shaw’s coaching career began in 1977 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. After two seasons at Cal Poly, Shaw became the defensive line coach at Cal State Northridge in 1979, before returning to Cal Poly as the defensive line coach from 1980-81 during which the Mustangs won the NCAA Division II title in 1980. From there, Shaw coached at Northern Arizona, where he spent three years coaching the defensive line. From 1985-88, Shaw coached at Northern Colorado where he was the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach.
Shaw earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly in 1978 and his master’s from Northern Arizona in 1984.
Shaw and his wife, Debra, have three daughters, Whitney, Jenna and Aubrey.
