Stanford head coach David Shaw said he's in no hurry to replace special teams coach and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian, who accepted a similar position at Texas A&M under new head coach Kevin Sumlin. Polian will reportedly coach special teams and the tight ends for the Aggies.
"I've been in contact with some people," Shaw said. "Right now, in my opinion, there is no rush."
Shaw's primary focus since falling in overtime to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl has been recruiting. With several key recruits coming to The Farm for visits this weekend, Shaw said there will be time after the recruiting season to round out his staff.
"There are a lot of good guys out there," he said. "Just like recruiting, I need to bring in the right person who understands this place, understands these kids and understands the kids we need to recruit. That will never be rushed."
Polian came to Stanford in 2010 and assumed recruiting coordinator duties this past season. Prior to that, he was at Notre Dame from 2005 to 2009. Shaw said the Cardinal haven't missed a beat on recruiting in his absence because linebackers' coach Lance Anderson was the previous recruiting coordinator and every assistant coach is in charge of their own recruiting territory.
"It's sad to see Brian go, but at the same time, we can't afford to skip a beat," Shaw said. "Brian's not out there doing it himself. We're working hard on all of these guys. We count more on our position coaches than anybody because we have guys in different regions. We have guys with big chunks of Texas and Georgia. Losing Brian does hurt because he was a good recruiter, but he wasn't recruiting everybody.
"Lance has the best relationship with our admissions people as far as making sure these kids are taking the classes and finishing strong and re-taking tests, etc."