Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw was a guest at Chat Sports' latest Minds Behind The Game event on Wednesday night, during which he discussed a myriad of topics surrounding college football. Here are the five best insights he had to share:

5) Momentum doesn't carry over seasons

Much is made in the college football world about making sure a team closes the season strong in order to create momentum heading into the next season. However, Shaw said no such thing exists:

"There's absolutely no momentum from January to September," Shaw declared. "There's no more momentum. All you have is what you start in September. There are no All-Americans, there are no first-round draft picks. For a bunch of guys to step on the practice field in August, they work their butts off to be as good as they can be, and whatever we get this season is what we are."

4) Stanford's academic standards are actually a recruiting advantage

Another big misconception that Shaw dispelled on Wednesday was how Stanford's academic standards worked in recruiting. Instead of seeing it as a detriment, Shaw said it's actually an advantage:

“I think it’s an advantage in a lot of different ways," Shaw explained. "For us, our focus is more narrowed. Our pool is smaller. Who we’re looking for, we get to know them a lot better. Instead of going after 150 guys or so, for next year’s class, we’re already down to about 30 guys, so getting to know these guys and talking to them about the process. Imagine the locker room that we get to put together every year. They’re all bright - on and off the field - they’re all athletic, they’re all tough minded, they’re all team-oriented."

Stanford has had just one recruiting class rank in the top 15 in the country in Shaw's tenure, yet they've won three Pac-12 titles.

3) Stanford doesn't have a single biggest rival

Stanford plays several big games every year, but their biggest rivalry is widely considered to be Cal due to their proximity in the Bay Area. Shaw agreed that the Golden Bears are probably their biggest rival, but not everyone on the team feels that way.

“If you asked our team, you're going to get a bunch of different answers because there will be some that will say Cal, right?" he said. "It’s in line with our proximity and it's our biggest, longest standing rivalry right there. Some will say it’s Oregon because we’re battling every single year for the Pac-12 North. A couple say ‘Coach, it's got to be USC.’ I also have some say UCLA, so for us we feel like half of our conference is our biggest rival. Especially for those that come from anywhere east of the Rockies, they're going to say because I've been hearing about Notre Dame my whole life, you know what we got to beat Notre Dame.

"So there's all of those, which for me end up being a positive to where there aren't a lot of times on the schedule with whoever we play that they’re not high up on the list of teams we want to prepare for the right way.”

2) Head coaches don't actually do much coaching

Shaw also provided some insights into the world of coaching, and how different his role is as a head coach. He explained that his role now is much more about managing people without as much of a focus on actually coaching.

“I’ve teased people over the years that we should have another title for what I have. It almost shouldn’t be football coach. It almost shouldn’t be head coach because I don’t spend much of my time coaching. I'm now a big-time manager. I’m a manager of people and their time. I’m a manager of expectations. I’m a manager of the process that we go about, so there are a lot of times where I’ll have no time at all to talk football.

“I learned early on, the expectations are not about me anymore. My expectations can never be about me. It’s about our goals and the process of reaching those goals. You go from an individual thinker for a thinker for a collection of human beings and getting everyone on the same page."

1) He has no plans to leave Stanford

Given his success at Stanford, Shaw has been a hot name for head coaching vacancies at every major college football program and some NFL teams. He was heavily linked to the San Francisco 49ers this past offseason, and was rumored to have been offered the head coaching job. but he insists that's not the case.

In fact, he says he has never even talked to another organization about their head coaching job - because he's not going to leave Stanford.

“Honestly, I never talked to anybody from 49ers," he said. "No job was ever offered, there's never been a process. The coaching rumor mill, it goes crazy every year. I can say without hesitation and 100 percent honesty since I've taken this job, I have not interviewed for another job from anybody else, have not talked to anybody about any jobs - and I don't plan to.”

Related Topics: Stanford Cardinal Football, David Shaw, NCAA Football, Pac-12 Football