Shaw declined to leave the borders of Raleigh, North Carolina and stayed in-house to find a new man to helm its football team.
Shaw named defensive coordinator Robert Massey its new head football coach Wednesday.
Massey, architect of the Bears "Bend, Don't Break" defensive scheme, replaces Darrell Asberry, who left the program to take over at Texas Southern in the SWAC.
"Coach Massey has proven himself as a coach and a loyal member of the Shaw family," said Shaw president Dr. Dorothy Cowsey Yancy. "This promotion is well-earned and a sign that our strong tradition of football at Shaw continues."
Massey has been at Shaw for the past five years, including the last two years as defensive coordinator. Though his defense helped lead the Bears to the CIAA title in 2010, the squad fell to 3-7 last season.
This is a dream job for me," Massey said at the press conference announcing his promotion. "I'm devoted to the Shaw program and am proud that Shaw had faith in me to continue what we've started here."
This will be Massey's second stint as a head college football coach. He was an interim head coach at CIAA rival Livingstone College prior to coming to Shaw. He also served as an assistant coach in varying capacities for his alma mater, North Carolina Central.
His first stint in coaching was as an assistant defensive back coach with the New York Giants just after his ten-year pro career ended.
Drafted in 1989 in the second round by the New Orleans Saints, Massey also played for the then-Phoenix Cardinals (where he made the 1992 NFC Pro Bowl), Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Giants.
Massey will get the make his season debut as head coach of Shaw when the Bears open the 2012 campaign on the road against Charleston, a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, on Aug. 30.
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