LAS VEGAS » Hawaii football coach Norm Chow is on the clock.
Chow was in demand at Tuesday’s Mountain West Conference’s media preview, with interviews scheduled with newspaper, radio, television and Internet outlets.
In short: Yes, the Warriors are interested in meeting with Penn State players and, no, Chow will not outsource play-calling duties.
"I’m too selfish," Chow said of not relinquishing his grip of the offense, "and too old."
Chow, who was named the Warriors’ head coach in December, took a timeout to talk football with the Star-Advertiser.
On whether the Warriors are ready to "chase championships":
"It’s hard to tell because we don’t know the level we’re playing at right now. I don’t know the level of the opposition yet, either. I think we’ll find out really quick once we start playing games whether that’s the reality or whether we have a lot of work to do."
On switching from the run-and-shoot offense (four receivers, one back) to the pro set (employing a tight end and two backs):
"The run and shoot is a very effective way to move the ball. But we want to use the tight end because it gives us the best chance to help our defense. I can imagine the first time we play and we don’t move the ball, we’ll get: ‘Why did you do that?’ I’m sure they’ll be up in arms about why we don’t do what we did in the past. We can’t worry about that. We’ll do what we need to do. I have always taken pride in doing what the team can do best. I don’t believe in labels. I think we have a job, and that’s to put our players in a position to be successful. To do that, we’ll do whatever. If it means running the option, we’ll run the option. We’re always looking for new things. When I was in the NFL, we had a coach who found a play he liked by watching his son play in a high school football game."
On preaching responsibility:
"We have a lot of goals. No. 4 on our list is that everything counts. It all counts — the way you treat people. You don’t coach football. You teach young men the game of football. There are so many life’s lessons that come with it. We have a responsibility to teach them those lessons."
On his disciplinary measures, such as making players who miss classes hold a book over their head for 20 minutes as punishment:
"Ever try to hold a book over your head for a long time? … We picked up little things like that along the way. Chuck Bullough, a guy I worked with at UCLA and a guy I really respect, did it. One day I walked in early to work and he had his linebackers holding books over their heads. And they were sweating. It’s not the punishment so much. It’s that there are consequences to be paid for every action."
On a 66-year-old head coach relating to players:
"I’ve been blessed with some decent health. I’ve been around young guys my whole life. I think you have to see what motivates young guys. Times have changed. In the old days, you tell them: ‘Do this because I said to do this.’ For the most part, young people respond to discipline. They want to be good. I’ve always contended that once they figure out how much you care and how much you want to make them better, they’ll do whatever you ask. … (Ohio State head coach) Urban Meyer said it’s 5 percent scheme and the rest buying in. They’re buying in because they want to do well. We’ll have to see. It’s easy to talk about it when you haven’t played a game yet."
On the fans’ optimism:
"I’m glad people have high expectations. Nobody has higher expectations than we do as coaches. I was thinking about it this morning. This is my 42nd fall of getting a team ready. We cannot get too high or too low at any time. If we can put a product on the field that will play hard, we’ll feel good about the effort. Then whatever happens, happens. We’ll accept the consequences. The ball bounces funny sometimes. That’s why you play the game. The big thing is we have to put forth the effort."
On team leaders:
"It’s their football team. I tell them that all of the time. I’ll be working next year. But this is the team they’ll remember for the rest of their lives, especially for the seniors. My best buddies still, after all these years, are the guys I played my senior year of college with. I want them to remember their senior experience. In order for them to do that, they have to feel this is their team. Lao Tzu said: Of good leaders, who speaks little, when the work is done, the job fulfilled, they will say, ‘We did it ourselves.’"
On the drunken-driving arrests of three Warriors:
"It really hurt. You feel like you failed to get the message across about taking care of yourself and doing the right thing. It hurts still. It hurts because of the amount of time we spent trying to help these young guys do the right thing. We all make mistakes. But we can’t minimize the severity (of the situation). Hopefully, they’ll learn. Is (the suspension) harsh enough? Who knows? You read in the paper all the time about some tragedies that are caused by DUIs. We can’t let that happen again."
On recruiting:
"At USC, you can get the No. 1 guys. Your job at USC is to make sure you do the right evaluation. I think we figured it out after the first season (of recruiting at UH) what our goals are, what our targets are. We want to make sure we go after the best players (in Hawaii). We want to recruit in Samoa and Australia. And we want to recruit the junior colleges, transfers and people, quote/unquote who deserve a second chance. It’s a year-round job. We’re always going to look for guys to make it competitive. That’s what makes them better."
