It was December 2016, and Nevada’s newly hired football coach Jay Norvell was cobbling together a coaching staff to implement the single-back, spread offense known as the Air Raid.
Matt Mumme, the offensive coordinator, recommended the play-caller for Emory & Henry College, a Division II program in Virginia. Mumme’s father — Hal Mumme, co-creator of the Air Raid — was the offensive coordinator at SMU when the candidate was a graduate assistant.
Norvell agreed with the recommendation to hire Timmy Chang, a record-setting quarterback for Hawaii in the early 2000s. Chang, who had never played anything but quarterback, was offered the position of coaching receivers and tight ends.
“I don’t know why,” Chang said of being asked to coach a position he never played. “But it worked out.”
Chang developed top receivers and tight ends, and was a contributor as Norvell turned the Wolf Pack into contenders for Mountain West titles. When Norvell was offered Colorado State’s head coaching job, Chang accepted an offer to join the new staff. Chang lived in the Fort Collins Marriott for a few weeks and eventually bought a suburban house before he was offered the head coaching job at his alma mater in January 2022.
Today, Chang’s Warriors will play host to Norvell’s Rams in the regular-season finale at the Ching Complex.
“It means the world,” Chang said of facing a coach he considers as one of his mentors. “He’ll have his team ready. We’ll have fun competing with each other with our styles of coaching and our kids playing, … It was a good game last year. He got the better of us. We’ll have to go out and play hard and execute. If we do that, we’ll be OK.”
Chang noted Norvell took a “rebuild” in 2017 (3-9 record) and transformed the Pack into an 8-5 team a year later.
“Going through the process with him helped,” Chang recalled. “The things he did, what we emphasized, how you want your team to be, all that mattered. … He made a big imprint on me.”
At 5-6 overall, the Rams need to win today to become bowl eligible.
“It’s a huge game for our team,” CSU linebacker Chase Wilson said. “We know what it’s going to take. They have a great program over there. I met Coach Chang for a little bit when he was over here. It’s going to be a battle. We’re looking forward to it.”
On Friday morning, the Warriors held their final practice of the year. Afterward, senior defensive end Andrew Choi thanked and then embraced Chang.
“You coach a group for the last time, this particular group, you want it to go on longer,” Chang said. “We gave up that opportunity in different plays along the season. But it’s a good group.”
As for today’s game, Chang said, “we want to win. We want to have a winning mindset. You never want to accept losing. … There were games along the season that could have made this game more important, that we’d be playing for something. We missed that opportunity and, to me, that’s what sticks out.”
