Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman can talk and talk and talk. Stanford head coach David Shaw knows first-hand how loquacious Sherman can be, so he had no issues with his interview following the 23-17 win in the NFC championship game to secure a berth in the Super Bowl.
"Bill Walsh said you want guys with high character who are great players and great people, but every once in a while, you have to line up and defend Jerry Rice. And the guy who does that has to be on the edge. That's where Richard is," Shaw told the BayAreaNews Group.
Shaw was the Cardinal's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2007-08, working with Sherman during his sophomore and junior seasons on the Farm. Sherman moved to defense as a senior.
And while Sherman has spent much of Monday walking back his remarks, it seems to have had the desired result. Sherman -- who graduated from Stanford with a degree in communications -- now has over 540,000 followers on Twitter, will be the second-most talked about player entering the biggest game in football behind only Peyton Manning, and will now have the big-money opportunities in marketing and endorsements rarely afforded defenders, let alone cornerbacks.
Even if it came in an unintended way, everyone knows who Sherman is now. And that's exactly what he wanted.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.