Kurt Gouveia brings his island attitude to UH

For Tuesday’s news conference, Kurt Gouveia wore an ‘H’ cap, polo shirt and attitude.

"You’ve got to (look) pretty," Gouveia joked to reporters as he was introduced as the University of Hawaii football team’s new outside linebackers coach.

Thirty-two years after his Rainbow Warriors dreams went unanswered — in a career going from Waianae High to Brigham Young to 13 years in the National Football League — Gouveia was back on the Manoa campus as a full-time employee. (He served as UH student manager in 2003 and ’04.)

"I wanted to wear these colors when I was coming out of high school," Gouveia said. "I dreamed of it."

Gouveia was the 1981 OIA West’s offensive player of the year as a quarterback and the state’s top defensive player as a safety. But his ascension was slow-tracked because he did not measure up to the so-called "measurables."

He was credited as running 40 yards in 4.9 seconds, although he does not know how that figure materialized.

"I was never timed in the 40," said Gouveia, who was a youth sprinter in the 100 and 220 yards. "At Waianae High School, we ran the triple option, the wishbone. I think in (coaches’) opinions, they felt I wasn’t really fast enough to break away from everybody. I don’t know. It really didn’t matter to me. As long as I crossed the goal line with the football, that was good enough for me."

One day, Norm Chow, who was a BYU assistant coach at the time, visited Gouveia’s house in Waianae and offered a scholarship.

"Scholarship? What’s a scholarship?" Gouveia recalled thinking.

It was an easy choice. Gouveia said his parents paid for his two older brothers to attend colleges on the mainland.

"By the time I came around, my parents didn’t have enough money (for another tuition)," said Gouveia, noting UH never made an offer.

After a successful career as a BYU linebacker, Gouveia did not anticipate getting drafted.

He said the Atlanta Falcons called and said they would make him a free-agent offer if he were available after the draft.

With that, Gouveia went to the movies. Later, Gouveia recalled, "They said a guy named Bobby Beathard called from Washington. This is how naive I was. I said: ‘Washington? Why would I want to go to Seattle.’ "

Beathard, the Washington Redskins’ general manager at the time, selected Gouveia in the eighth round.

After his NFL career ended, Gouveia worked toward being a coach. He took the job as UH student manager in which he set up cones for drills, but also was allowed to sit in on meetings. He took a coaching job in NFL Europe that paid $10,000 per season.

"You have to make sacrifices," Gouveia said. "For me to elevate my career — my coaching career — you have to do those things."

Gouveia learned of the UH opening, and quickly applied. After a lengthy vetting process, Chow and athletic director Ben Jay selected Gouveia to succeed Tony Tuioti, whose contract was not extended.

Gouveia said he welcomed the opportunity to work again under Chow, who is in his third year as UH head coach.

"I think coach Chow taught me how to be humble but open-minded; how to accept and change," Gouveia said. "For me being here, it’s the utmost opportunity. I’m happy about this. I bring a lot of respect for the game. I think the kids will actually see how much passion I have for the game, how hard they’re going to have to work to achieve what I’ve achieved. It’s possible. I’m an example of the islands. If you work hard, and you set your goals, and focus on what you need to accomplish, I think everything will just fall into place."