Following up on multiple reports from Tuesday, Hawaii has officially announced that Norm Chow has been hired as the Warriors’ new head coach.
The 65-year-old Chow, who has never been a head coach during his 39-year coaching career, will replace Greg McMackin, who “retired” earlier this month after four years at the school.
“I am happy and proud to welcome Norm Chow as our new football coach,” athletic director Jim Donovan said in a statement. “I’d like to thank the search committee for their work the last two weeks. I’d also like to thank Glenn Sugiyama and DHR International for their support. Obviously Norm is one of the best offensive minds in the country and we are thrilled that he’s able to come home to lead our football program. This is special not only for the university but for him. His wide-open offense and name recognition will only help us in recruiting the top talent to our university and football program.”
“I am extremely honored to receive the privilege of leading the University of Hawai’i football program; it is very humbling,” Chow said. “This is a program with great history, and I feel excited and energized about creating a program that will make all of the people of Hawai’i feel pride for the university and our state. I am looking forward to coming home, to family and friends, and I am going to do my best to contribute to the rich history of Hawai’i and its progress. I want to thank President Greenwood, the Board of Regents and Athletics Director Jim Donovan for giving me this opportunity, and I am looking forward to meeting the student body at the University of Hawai’i and getting them excited about Hawai’i Football.”
Chow spent the first 27 years of his coaching career (1973-1999) at BYU before moving on to offensive coordinator jobs at North Carolina State (2000), USC (2001-04) and UCLA (2008-10) at the collegiate level and with the Tennessee Titans (2005-07) at the NFL level. He served as the coordinator at Utah, his alma mater, this past season.
As noted by Ben, Chow’s first game as a head coach will carry a little additional spice thanks to the opponent; the Warriors open the 2012 season at USC and against Lane Kiffin, who replaced Chow as the Trojans’ coordinator following the 2004 season.
With Hawaii filling their vacancy with Chow, there are currently four Div. 1-A (FBS) head-coaching openings -- Akron, Houston, Penn State and Pittsburgh. And how did we know that? By clicking HERE for the coaching carousel, of course.