After Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby hired him in December as the new head football coach, Jim Harbaugh went on a hiring spree.

Ten hires later, Harbaugh admits it was a monumental task.

“You want to check out all possibilities, and see if they’re going to fit right with the program and me,” Harbaugh said. “Guys with great character, guys that are technically sound, guys that can teach, guys that love Stanford and guys that really wanted to embrace what Stanford’s all about.”

For the most part, Harbaugh’s hires appear to be a reflection of the head coach himself. Most of the new Stanford assistants are young former players who should bring a renewed energy to the Cardinal program. And Harbaugh knows how crucial they will be in determining his own success.

“To me, the second-most important thing in having a winning football program is quality of the coaching staff,” Harbaugh said. “You just can’t win without it, not one bad guy. They’ve all got to be excellent because they’ve got to fit together — they’ve got to mesh. Besides the support of the Athletic Department, number two is you’ve got to have a great coaching staff.”

Harbaugh named five new assistants on Jan. 10, less than a month after he was hired himself. The process finally ended last week, when Defensive Backs Coach Clayton White was hired on Wed., Feb. 21. After more than two months of cleaning house, Harbaugh added the following 10 to his staff for the 2007 season:

Scott Shafer Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Western Michigan (‘05-’06)

A college quarterback at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, Shafer has coached at Rhode Island, Northern Illinois and Illinois. His Western Michigan defense ranked eleventh in the nation last year, while tallying the most sacks and interceptions of any program in the country. “What stood out for Western Michigan’s defense is they did it without playing any stat-builders — there are no Saginaw Valley States on their schedule,” Harbaugh said. “Any time they play out of conference it is against an SEC team, an ACC team or a Big 10 team. So, I definitely wanted to talk to him. And once I did, [I went] from not knowing him to knowing this is the guy we’ve got to get.”

Chris Dalman Offensive Line Atlanta Falcons (‘05-’06)

A four-year letter winner at Stanford, Dalman graduated following the Cardinal’s ‘92 season and went on to play eight years in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers. Dalman was a member of the Super Bowl XXIX-winning squad for S.F., and will be entrusted with turning around the front five for the Cardinal in 2007. Harbaugh told the Daily he looks for Dalman to bring a new attitude to Stanford’s offensive line. “The agenda of the offensive and defensive line is purest in football,” he said. “Because there’s no stats for them — they’re not scoring touchdowns — those are the guys you build a team around. So it’s a big job for [Dalman], and definitely we wanted to get the right guy in place there: A guy who knows the running game, can teach pass protections and get our lines playing with mental and physical toughness.”

Clayton White Defensive Backs Western Michigan (‘06)

White comes over with Scott Shafer to coach the defensive backs. He played for North Carolina State in college and spent time with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. According to Shafer, White will add still more positive, youthful vibes to the rebuilding Cardinal program. “We plan to install an attacking-style defense and Clayton has experience working in that system,” Shafer said after White was hired. “We are very excited to add Clayton’s energy and enthusiasm to our staff.”

DJ Durkin Defensive Ends/Special Teams Bowling Green (‘05-’06)

Durkin also spent time coaching at Notre Dame after graduating from Bowling Green in 2001, where he started four years for the Falcons at defensive end and outside linebacker.

Lance Anderson Defensive Line University of San Diego (‘05-’06)

Anderson will make the transition from San Diego to Stanford with Harbaugh. Prior to his time at USD, he had bounced around the college football world, working at four different schools in an eight-year span, including stints at Bucknell, Utah State and St. Mary’s.

Andy Buh Linebackers Fresno State (‘06)

Buh had served as a linebackers coach for four seasons at San Diego State before accepting a job as a graduate assistant last year at Fresno State. The Nevada graduate also spent one season (‘00-’01) with California as an administrative assistant.

Tim Drevno Tight Ends USD (‘03-’06)

A graduate of Cal State-Fullerton, Drevno served as an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for Harbaugh at USD.

David Shaw Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers USD (‘06)

Shaw was a four-year letter winner as a Stanford wide receiver, 1991-1994, and coached for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.

Willie Taggart Running Backs Western Kentucky (‘99-’06)

After graduating from Western Kentucky in 1998, Taggart spent the next eight years on the Hilltoppers coaching staff, and his team won a Division I-AA national championship in 2002.

Shannon Turley Strength Coach USD (‘06)

A 2000 graduate of Virginia Tech, Turley will oversee the Cardinal football program’s conditioning and strength training.