Norm Chow
Encyclopedia
Norman Chow is the offensive coordinator
for the Utah Utes
, a position he started on January 22, 2011. He previously held the same position with UCLA
, the NFL
's Tennessee Titans
, USC, North Carolina State
, and Brigham Young University.
Chow won the 2002 Broyles Award
as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach. He also was named the 2002 NCAA Division I-A Offensive Coordinator of the Year by American Football Monthly and was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999 by the American Football Foundation. He is known for developing quarterbacks such as Jim McMahon
, Steve Young, Ty Detmer
, Philip Rivers
, Carson Palmer
, and Matt Leinart
.
, played college football for the University of Utah
. Chow was a 2-year starter and a 3-year letterman offensive guard for the Utes. In his senior season, Chow was named to the All-WAC first team and gained All-America
honorable mention honors. He then played briefly in the Canadian Football League
, for the Saskatchewan Roughriders
, before an injury ended his professional athletic career. He was selected to Utah's All-Century Team.
He received his master's degree in special education from Utah and a doctorate in educational psychology, Ed.D., from Brigham Young University
in 1978.
, where he was born, at Waialua High and Intermediate School. He was the head coach there from 1970 to 1972. In 1973 he left for BYU to be a Graduate Assistant, a position he held for two seasons. He was promoted to receivers coach in 1976, a post he would hold until 1982 (apart from a one-year stint as running backs coach).
In 1982, head coach LaVell Edwards
named Chow as principal offensive play-caller. He continued to call all the offensive plays until he left the program after the 1999 season. In 1984
BYU won the consensus national championship. He became quarterbacks coach in 1986, and was officially given the title of offensive coordinator
in 1996. During his 27 years with BYU, they had a record of 244–91–3.
Chow spent one season as the offensive coordinator at NC State
, where he coached an offense quarterbacked by Philip Rivers
, before accepting the position of offensive coordinator at USC. Chow helped lead the Trojans to the 2003
Associated Press
National Championship, (their first national title since 1978
), and the 2004
BCS National Championship. He left USC in spring 2005, after unsuccessfully interviewing for the Stanford
head coaching vacancy, for a job offer to be the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans
--his first job on the professional level. Their head coach, Jeff Fisher
, graduated from USC.
Chow was the Titans' offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2007. During this time, the Titans had non-losing seasons in 2006 (8-8) and 2007 (10-6), and appeared in the 2007 AFC Playoffs. In 2007, the Titans were 21st overall in total offense, with a total of nine touchdown passes.
On January 15, 2008, after being fired by the Titans following the 2007 season, Chow was hired by new UCLA Bruins
head coach Rick Neuheisel
as offensive coordinator. When Lane Kiffin
took over as head coach of the USC Trojans in early 2010, he attempted to hire Chow away from UCLA, but Chow elected to stay after being assured he would receive a contract extension. However, the Bruin's 2010 season
proved to be an offensive disappointment: UCLA finishing ranked 116th out of 120 teams nationally in passing yardage and 118th in passing efficiency, as they tried to install a pistol offense
; in his three seasons, the team had a 15-22 record. On January 22, 2011, Chow departed UCLA after negotiating a buyout to the contract extension that would have paid him $1 million over the next two seasons rather than remain at UCLA and be demoted to a lesser coaching position. While Chow made his reputation by developing quarterbacks, Ramona Shelburne
of ESPNLosAngeles.com
said he never really had one to develop at UCLA due to injuries to their quarterbacks. Chow never publicly made excuses.
Chow was immediately hired as the offensive coordinator of the Utah Utes
, a team that was getting ready to enter its first season in the Pac-12. "Rick [Neuheisel] did a nice job with [facilitating his exit at UCLA]. And [Utah] is a good football situation," said Chow. "I went to school there, you know? I have two degrees from there. I met my wife there, my kids were born in Salt Lake. Not many people can say they get to go full circle like that."
During his time as an assistant football coach, Chow has helped coach 8 of the top 14 career passing-efficiency leaders and 13 quarterbacks who rank among the top 30 in NCAA history for single-season passing yardage. The list of players he coached includes Jim McMahon
, Steve Young, and Philip Rivers
, as well as Heisman Trophy
winners Ty Detmer
, Carson Palmer
, and Matt Leinart
.
; and, the NCAA's North Carolina State University
, the University of Kentucky
, and the University of Hawaii
.
Chow was a candidate to replace Karl Dorrell
at UCLA
, but withdrew his candidacy soon after interviewing. Chow was also considered to replace June Jones
at the University of Hawaii
.
and native Hawaiian
descent. He and his wife, Diane, have been married for forty years and they have four children: Carter, Maile, Cameron and Chandler. Carter serves as his father's agent. One of his sons graduated from the University of Southern California and another is still a student there.
for being the top assistant coach in college football. In 2004, Chow served as Grand Marshal of the annual Chinese New Year Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown, Los Angeles
. On May 3, 2009, Chow was honored by the Los Angeles Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
in "Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports".
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the Utah Utes
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
, a position he started on January 22, 2011. He previously held the same position with UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
, the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, USC, North Carolina State
NC State Wolfpack football
The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Wolfpack currently compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference....
, and Brigham Young University.
Chow won the 2002 Broyles Award
Broyles Award
The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles...
as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach. He also was named the 2002 NCAA Division I-A Offensive Coordinator of the Year by American Football Monthly and was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999 by the American Football Foundation. He is known for developing quarterbacks such as Jim McMahon
Jim McMahon
James Robert "Jim" McMahon, Jr. is a former American football player. He played college football at Brigham Young University, where he was a two-time All-American and later in the professional ranks with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona...
, Steve Young, Ty Detmer
Ty Detmer
Ty Hubert Detmer is a former National Football League and NCAA quarterback. He starred at Brigham Young University, where he set many records and won the Heisman Trophy in 1990...
, Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college...
, Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer is an American professional football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy in 2002...
, and Matt Leinart
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart , is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...
.
Education and playing career
Chow, a native of Honolulu, and an alumnus of Punahou SchoolPunahou School
Punahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
, played college football for the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. Chow was a 2-year starter and a 3-year letterman offensive guard for the Utes. In his senior season, Chow was named to the All-WAC first team and gained All-America
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
honorable mention honors. He then played briefly in the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
, for the Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
, before an injury ended his professional athletic career. He was selected to Utah's All-Century Team.
He received his master's degree in special education from Utah and a doctorate in educational psychology, Ed.D., from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
in 1978.
Coaching career
Chow began his coaching career in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where he was born, at Waialua High and Intermediate School. He was the head coach there from 1970 to 1972. In 1973 he left for BYU to be a Graduate Assistant, a position he held for two seasons. He was promoted to receivers coach in 1976, a post he would hold until 1982 (apart from a one-year stint as running backs coach).
In 1982, head coach LaVell Edwards
LaVell Edwards
R. LaVell Edwards is a former American football coach of Brigham Young University . With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time...
named Chow as principal offensive play-caller. He continued to call all the offensive plays until he left the program after the 1999 season. In 1984
1984 BYU Cougars football team
The 1984 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 1984 college football season. The Cougars went undefeated en route to winning the 1984 Holiday Bowl against Michigan and being named national champions by the AP and Coaches Poll...
BYU won the consensus national championship. He became quarterbacks coach in 1986, and was officially given the title of offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
in 1996. During his 27 years with BYU, they had a record of 244–91–3.
Chow spent one season as the offensive coordinator at NC State
NC State Wolfpack football
The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Wolfpack currently compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference....
, where he coached an offense quarterbacked by Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college...
, before accepting the position of offensive coordinator at USC. Chow helped lead the Trojans to the 2003
2003 USC Trojans football team
The 2003 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2003-2004 NCAA Division I-A college football season...
Associated Press
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
National Championship, (their first national title since 1978
1978 USC Trojans football team
The 1978 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Following the season, the Trojans were crowned national champions according to the Coaches Poll...
), and the 2004
2004 USC Trojans football team
The 2004 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2004-2005 NCAA Division I-A college football season. Although now vacated for breaking NCAA rules, the team won the 2004 BCS National Championship by winning the 2005 Orange Bowl, that year's BCS National...
BCS National Championship. He left USC in spring 2005, after unsuccessfully interviewing for the Stanford
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
head coaching vacancy, for a job offer to be the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
--his first job on the professional level. Their head coach, Jeff Fisher
Jeff Fisher
Jeffrey Michael "Jeff" Fisher is the former head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. He has a 146-120 career record as an NFL head coach.-Early life:...
, graduated from USC.
Chow was the Titans' offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2007. During this time, the Titans had non-losing seasons in 2006 (8-8) and 2007 (10-6), and appeared in the 2007 AFC Playoffs. In 2007, the Titans were 21st overall in total offense, with a total of nine touchdown passes.
On January 15, 2008, after being fired by the Titans following the 2007 season, Chow was hired by new UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
head coach Rick Neuheisel
Rick Neuheisel
Richard Gerald "Rick" Neuheisel, Jr. , is an American football coach, former player, and attorney. He was most recently the head football coach at University of California, Los Angeles, a position he held from 2008 to 2011...
as offensive coordinator. When Lane Kiffin
Lane Kiffin
Lane Monte Kiffin is the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans college football team. He was previously the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers college football team, the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, and the offensive coordinator for the Trojans...
took over as head coach of the USC Trojans in early 2010, he attempted to hire Chow away from UCLA, but Chow elected to stay after being assured he would receive a contract extension. However, the Bruin's 2010 season
2010 UCLA Bruins football team
The 2010 UCLA Bruins football team, coached by third year head coach Rick Neuheisel, opened the season on the road against the Kansas State Wildcats on September 4, 2010. The next three games would be against ranked opponents, and after a road win at #7 Texas, expectations for the Bruins dampened...
proved to be an offensive disappointment: UCLA finishing ranked 116th out of 120 teams nationally in passing yardage and 118th in passing efficiency, as they tried to install a pistol offense
Pistol Offense
The pistol offense is an American football formation and strategy developed in 2004 by Chris Ault, the University of Nevada head coach. It is a hybrid of the traditional shotgun and single back offenses. In the pistol offense, also commonly referred to as the "pistol formation", the quarterback...
; in his three seasons, the team had a 15-22 record. On January 22, 2011, Chow departed UCLA after negotiating a buyout to the contract extension that would have paid him $1 million over the next two seasons rather than remain at UCLA and be demoted to a lesser coaching position. While Chow made his reputation by developing quarterbacks, Ramona Shelburne
Ramona Shelburne
Ramona Shelburne is a sports news columnist in Los Angeles and was a college softball player at Stanford University.Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian...
of ESPNLosAngeles.com
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
said he never really had one to develop at UCLA due to injuries to their quarterbacks. Chow never publicly made excuses.
Chow was immediately hired as the offensive coordinator of the Utah Utes
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
, a team that was getting ready to enter its first season in the Pac-12. "Rick [Neuheisel] did a nice job with [facilitating his exit at UCLA]. And [Utah] is a good football situation," said Chow. "I went to school there, you know? I have two degrees from there. I met my wife there, my kids were born in Salt Lake. Not many people can say they get to go full circle like that."
During his time as an assistant football coach, Chow has helped coach 8 of the top 14 career passing-efficiency leaders and 13 quarterbacks who rank among the top 30 in NCAA history for single-season passing yardage. The list of players he coached includes Jim McMahon
Jim McMahon
James Robert "Jim" McMahon, Jr. is a former American football player. He played college football at Brigham Young University, where he was a two-time All-American and later in the professional ranks with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona...
, Steve Young, and Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college...
, as well as Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winners Ty Detmer
Ty Detmer
Ty Hubert Detmer is a former National Football League and NCAA quarterback. He starred at Brigham Young University, where he set many records and won the Heisman Trophy in 1990...
, Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer is an American professional football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy in 2002...
, and Matt Leinart
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart , is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...
.
Head coaching interest
In addition to Stanford, Chow has officially interviewed for the head coaching jobs of the NFL's Arizona CardinalsArizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
; and, the NCAA's North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, and the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
.
Chow was a candidate to replace Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell
Karl Dorrell is a football coach, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, the first African American head football coach in the school's history...
at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, but withdrew his candidacy soon after interviewing. Chow was also considered to replace June Jones
June Jones
June Sheldon Jones, III is the American football head coach for Southern Methodist University.-Playing career:Jones played the quarterback position on three college teams: Oregon , Hawaii , and Portland State . It is during his time at Portland State that he was introduced to the Run and Shoot...
at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
.
Personal
Chow is of ChineseChinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
and native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
descent. He and his wife, Diane, have been married for forty years and they have four children: Carter, Maile, Cameron and Chandler. Carter serves as his father's agent. One of his sons graduated from the University of Southern California and another is still a student there.
Awards and honors
In 2002 Norm Chow won the Broyles AwardBroyles Award
The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles...
for being the top assistant coach in college football. In 2004, Chow served as Grand Marshal of the annual Chinese New Year Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown in Los Angeles, California is located in the city's downtown area. Built in 1938, it is the second Chinatown to be constructed in Los Angeles. The original historic Chinatown was founded in the late 19th century, but was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major rail...
. On May 3, 2009, Chow was honored by the Los Angeles Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California is located in Los Angeles Chinatown, at 415 Bernard Street. Its Chinatown Heritage & Visitors Center is open to the public...
in "Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports".
See also
- 2011 Utah Utes football team2011 Utah Utes football teamThe 2011 Utah Utes football team represents the University of Utah in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team is coached by seventh year head coach Kyle Whittingham and plays their home games in Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah....
- 2009 UCLA Bruins football team2009 UCLA Bruins football teamThe 2009 UCLA Bruins football team , under second year head coach Rick Neuheisel, opened the season at the Rose Bowl on September 5 against San Diego State. One scheduling change was that the last game of the season against USC was moved from the "Championship Saturday" weekend of December...
- 2008 UCLA Bruins football team2008 UCLA Bruins football teamThe UCLA Bruins football team opened the 2008 campaign by playing its first game at home against Tennessee under new head coach Rick Neuheisel, at 5:00 p.m. at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. The Bruins played six of the Top 25 teams in the 2007 final Associated Press rankings,...