Chow hiring official and more thoughts
January 21, 2008
I already blogged about this earlier, but it’s official now, as a press release has been posted on the official site. A quote from head coach Rick Neuheisel:
“Norm brings great offensive expertise to the job,” said Neuheisel. “He has enjoyed tremendous success throughout his career and has been the architect of some of the most explosive offenses in college football history. We are thrilled that Norm has decided to become a Bruin. What youngster who plays offense in high school wouldn’t be excited about playing for a school with Norm Chow as its offensive coordinator?”
The more I think about this, the more I’m convinced that this is going to work. As the same old ESPN.com article points out, Pete Carroll and Chow had a very limited relationship before Chow came to USC. That worked out well.
And Chow chose to come to UCLA, he wasn’t forced to. So the issue of him being an offensive coordinator at a school that turned him down for head coach is a non-issue. Chow is old enough and has enough money to retire or take a year off if he wanted to. But Chow wanted to coach at UCLA. That means a lot.
No, I don’t expect UCLA to have great success in 2008, considering the Bruins have a tough schedule and most of the starters from last season’s team gone. Hell, Pete Carroll and Norm Chow went 6-6 in their first season at USC, and for a UCLA comparison, Ben Howland had a losing record in his first season as head coach. But with this coaching staff, the pieces and potential for huge success is in place — something UCLA football fans haven’t been able to realistically say in a while.
(Again, major hat-tip to Bruins Nation for finding the press release first.)
Gilbert
Ben
January 21, 2008 at 5:24 pm
One thing that a lot of the biggest hirings that we’ve seen the last few years all have in common is that they want to be here. Howland, Neuheisel, Chow…Savage too I assume? Obviously, this is important in any job. Just talk to the employees of your favorite bookstore or fast food place to find out what happens when none of the employees – even the bosses – want to be there. But in college sports, where the coaches are also responsible for recruiting, I think having a coach who wants to be where they are is even more important.
January 21, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Gil,
That’s me above. My internet has been screwed up from home, so I am (gasp) on campus on a holiday and taking a break from work.
January 22, 2008 at 2:36 am
I agree completely, having a coach who really wants to be there is very important in all sports.
I don’t see Neuheisel leaving willingly. I don’t see Chow leaving other than for retirement (mostly because I don’t see anyone giving him a head coaching job at his age). And the only way I see DeWayne Walker leaving is if someone offers him a head coaching job.
Howland probably isn’t leaving either — it’s a great time to be a UCLA fan.