MOSCOW, Idaho – Gordy Shaw is no stranger to Moscow or the Western Athletic Conference.

As the University of Idaho Vandals’ newly installed run game coordinator/offensive line coach, Shaw has a season on the Palouse as well three in the WAC on his resume.

“I’m real excited we could get a coach of his caliber,” said Idaho coach Robb Akey as he announced Shaw’s addition to his 2012 staff. “He knows what it takes to have success here. He’s a great teacher; a great person. He’s going to fit in very, very well.”

Shaw’s time at Idaho was during the 1989 championship campaign. At the time, he was the Vandals’ defensive coordinator and helped guide Idaho to a 9-3 overall record and an 8-0 mark in the Big Sky Conference.

His career has been a mix of offensive and defensive coaching with his most recent position (2009-11) as Hawai`i’s offensive line coach.

Shaw’s longest stay was a 13-year stint at Minnesota where he was the offensive line coach (1993-96), defensive line coach (1997-2000) and offensive line coach (2001-06). He was the 1999 Nike Assistant Coach of the Year.

“We lost an experienced line coach and we replaced him with a great, experienced line coach,” Akey said. “His guys always know what they’re doing.”

Shaw is a graduate of Cal Poly (1978) and earned his master’s degree at Northern Arizona (1984). His first foray into collegiate coaching was as a graduate assistant at Cal Poly (1977-78). From San Luis Obispo, he went to Cal State Northridge (1979), back to Cal Poly (1980-81), Northern Arizona (1982-84), Northern Colorado (1985-88), Idaho (1989) and Wyoming (1990-92) before embarking on his tenure at Minnesota. He was the offensive coordinator at South Dakota in 2008.

In all, Shaw has coached in 10 bowl games.

Shaw’s career

2009-11 – University of Hawai`i (offensive line)

2008 – University of South Dakota (offensive coordinator)

2001-06 – University of Minnesota (offensive line)

1997-2000 – University of Minnesota (defensive line)

1993-96 – University of Minnesota (offensive line)

1990-92 – University of Wyoming (offensive line)

1989 – University of Idaho (defensive coordinator)

1985-88 – University of Northern Colorado (offensive coordinator/offensive line)

1982-84 – Northern Arizona University (defensive line)

1980-81 – Cal Poly (defensive line)

1979 – Cal State Northridge (defensive line)

1977-78 – Cal Poly (graduate assistant)