The attention he has received since his NFC Championship postgame interview has allowed Richard Sherman to show there's much more to him than brashness, but Stanford head coach David Shaw didn't need to be reminded of that fact.
However, Shaw, who coached Sherman at Stanford, said Sunday on NFL GameDay Morning that fieriness is absolutely a part of Sherman's game, and not a misrepresentation of who he is as a player.
"That's part of Richard Sherman," Shaw said. "That brashness, that confidence, that internal drive that honestly is hard for him to turn off at times, which we all know now. But there's the other side of him, which is also Richard ... he's one of the most generous people you'll ever find. He gives his time, he gives his money. He loves helping underprivileged kids. He goes back down to Compton, he helps his school. He talks to their leadership groups about what it takes to get from where they were, and where he was, to where he is now.
"It takes a lot of determination. He's got great family support. We're so proud of him."
Shaw said he actually was one of the first people to talk to Sherman following the NFC Championship Game interview.
"We talked about 10 minutes after the NFC Championship Game. It was generally positive. We talked about the onslaught of what was going to happen after that and he's handled it extremely well," Shaw said. "He's also shown people the other side of him, but he's also let people know that that's how he got to where he is. That internal drive."
Shaw didn't offer a prediction for Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday -- he has friends with both franchises, including former Stanford QB and Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway.
He did wish Sherman well, though.
"He's a sweetheart," Shaw said. "When he comes back in town, one of the first things he does is he comes back to my house and plays with my kids. He's a big kid. He's loving life and hopefully he plays well today."
