“It’s time to go back to work. We have a lot to do.”

Norm Chow sleeps on a futon in his daughter’s Pauoa house.

Because he does not have access to a car yet, he catches rides from a neighbor.

Most important, Chow is back home, working a mile from where he was raised in Palolo Valley.

Wednesday, he made his first public appearance in Hawaii since being announced as Hawaii’s head football coach on Dec. 22.

Chow got a standing ovation when he was introduced, by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, as the featured speaker at a noon luncheon at the Hukilau restaurant. Dining tables were removed to accommodate the overflow crowd that spilled into the lobby of the Executive Centre.

Chow delighted the audience with anecdotes from recruiting to his hanabata days. He was teary when he spoke of his late father, but then made a feisty promise that he and his coaching staff would work hard and not be “in awe” of opposing programs.

During the 1-hour program and the meet-the-press session that followed, Chow confirmed the hiring of defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer and gave details of his plans for the spring semester.

Chow said UH went the “extra mile” financially to secure Kaumeyer, who spent the past three years in the NFL as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive backs coach.

It is believed Kaumeyer will earn in excess of $200,000 annually, a figure that would make him the highest-paid assistant coach in UH history.

A deal was reached last week after Kaumeyer and his wife and Chow and his wife had dinner in Los Angeles. UH officials signed off on the financial terms. Kaumeyer will join the staff next week.

“I’ve known about Tom for a long time,” Chow said. “He’s really a tough, hard-nosed type of guy.”

Chow said Kaumeyer has “a real passion for football, and Hawaii football, as well.”

Chow said Kaumeyer will be given “free rein” to implement an aggressive defensive scheme that will use mostly man-to-man coverages in the secondary.

Chow said he and Tommy Lee, who will coach the quarterbacks and receivers, will call the offensive plays. He said neither will hold the title of offensive coordinator.

Chow will be on the field during games while Lee will be in the coaches’ booth.

“He’ll probably make the majority of the calls,” Chow said.

Lee said he is comfortable with the West Coast offense that Chow will implement.

“We’ll make it work,” Chow said.

Also:

» Chow has reached an agreement with a special teams coordinator, but nothing will be finalized until the screening process is completed.

» Chow has no immediate plans to give any coach the title of associate head coach or assistant head coach.

» Chow said the coordinators are responsible for winning, while the assistant coaches’ main responsibility is to recruit.

» He acknowledged that seven recruits will be visiting this weekend. After that, several assistant coaches will go on the road to recruit.

» Chow will meet with the players this afternoon. He said he has purposely decided not to evaluate players on the current roster. He said those evaluations will begin Feb. 2, the day after signing day for recruits.

» Chow has four positions to fill — director of football operations, director of player personnel, video coordinator, and administrative assistant. Private donations might subsidize the salaries for those positions.

» Spring practice will begin on Saturday, March 27. The Warriors will practice for a week, take off a week for spring break, then have practices spread over the next four weeks.

» Chow said he has no objection to the Warriors playing 12 regular-season games in 2012. The Hawaii exemption allows UH to play a 13th regular-season game. The Warriors have had difficulty finding a replacement for Texas State, which pulled out from a commitment last August.

Chow asked the audience for support, saying the team needed help from big-time donors to a fan buying a ticket.

Chow said UH needs improvements to facilities to help attract recruits.

He also said he wanted to turn Aloha Stadium into a home-field advantage that would be disruptive to visiting teams.

It was the inaugural event for the newly created Downtown Athletic Club. Keith Amemiya, the organization’s president, said plans call for monthly luncheons.

It would be difficult to top Wednesday’s event. The UH marching band played “Hawaii Five-0” and the school’s fight song.

There were banners featuring puns of Chow’s name.

There were “Chow time” T-shirts, hats and mini pennants sold at a souvenir table.

After the event, Chow said: “It’s time to go back to work. We have a lot to do.”