Stephen Tsai: If not for his dream job becoming available, Chang could have been at Nevada

It will be an emotional reunion for Timmy Chang when the Nevada and Hawaii football teams meet Saturday at the Ching Complex.

Chang, a record-setting quarterback for UH in the early 2000s, was named head coach at his alma mater in January. He previously spent five years through the 2021 season coaching Nevada’s receivers and tight ends.

But there was a possibility that Chang would have been on the visiting sideline for Saturday’s game.

Last Dec. 6, Jay Norvell resigned as Nevada’s head coach to take a similar position at Colorado State. Norvell asked Chang to join CSU’s staff as receivers coach. But Nevada athletic director Doug Knuth also asked Chang to serve as interim head coach and lead the Wolf Pack in the Dec. 27 Quick Lane Bowl in Michigan.

Chang recalled feeling that if he accepted Knuth’s offer, there were no assurances he would be retained at Nevada after the bowl game.

After contemplating his options, Chang turned down Knuth’s offer and opted to join Norvell at CSU. Four other coaches made the move from Nevada to CSU.

“There were too many ‘what ifs’ and unanswered questions,” Chang said. “And, really, I couldn’t wait around for that type of decision with my family.”

Chang has six children, including five with his wife, Sherry.

“I had to go with the job at hand, and that was leaving for Colorado State,” Chang said.

Vai Taua, who coached the Wolf Pack’s running backs since 2019, was named interim coach on Dec. 6. Four days later, Ken Wilson was hired as a Nevada’s head coach. Taua coached Nevada in the bowl game, and was retained on Wilson’s staff.

In April, Knuth resigned as Nevada’s athletic director with 14 months remaining on a contract that paid $400,000 annually. At the time, Knuth was second in seniority among Mountain West athletic directors.

And a month after leaving Nevada and settling in Fort Collins, Colo., Chang was hired to succeed Todd Graham as UH’s head coach.

“I’m at my dream job,” Chang said.

But Chang conceded it was difficult to leave Nevada’s players ahead of the Quick Lane Bowl.

“That was hard to do,” Chang said. “I know where I’m going, and I’m an adult. What they know at that stage in life — the 18- to 22-year-old stage in life — and their comfort and their security in us coaches just gets uprooted and leaves. … that wasn’t an easy situation for them to deal with. And for us coaches, it was tough. It was really tough.”

In preparing for Saturday’s game, Chang watched a telecast of last week’s game between Nevada and Colorado State. With several Nevada transfers on CSU’s roster, Chang saw several familiar players.

“I look at the defense, I look at the offensive guys — those are guys we either recruited or we’re coaching (at Nevada),” Chang said. “You build real relationships with them. You go to battle with them. You’re mentors to them. And that’s huge. That’s what coaching’s about. That’s the best part of coaching. It’s the relationship you have with your players. The games will come and go. You’ve got an incredible two, three, four, five years with these guys. And the relationships and bonds you build in that short amount of time, man, that lasts forever.”

Chang said Saturday’s game is meaningful for his family.

“My kids, they lived (in Reno), they grew up there,” Chang said. “A big chunk of their lives has been there. And growing up in the school systems, and the community. For them, I think they wished we were playing (this game in Reno) so they could go back and see some of their friends.”