This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
At the close of a recent Utah football practice, coach Kyle Whittingham stood off to one side, waiting until the media throng had its fill of offensive coordinator Norm Chow.
"You finished, coach?" Whittingham asked, only half joking. "I know who is running the show."
Make no mistake, the Utes are still Whittingham's team, but the coach heading into his seventh year also knows the credibility and intrigue that come with having a guy like Chow on his staff. That Chow has his own meet-and-greet moments with the media every day at practice speaks to the heightened interest he has brought to Utah football.
Now, if he can just produce some yards and points.
Chow, hired in what Whittingham calls a moment of opportunity when the offensive coordinator needed a way out of UCLA and the Utes needed an offensive spark going into the Pac-12, has redesigned Utah's offense with the hope of making it better suited for quarterback Jordan Wynn and a run game.
The result, everyone who follows Utah football hopes, is an offense that handles the quality of teams in the Pac-12 better than Utah's offense did last year against good competition.
The Utes averaged 45 points in the first eight games but only 13.6 points a game in the last five.
Whether that drop-off was from facing better competition, a nagging shoulder injury to Wynn, Whittingham's desire to use a conservative game plan backfiring, or a combination of the three, can be debated.
What is clear: Averaging less than two touchdowns a game won't be good enough for the Utes to contend for the Pac-12 title.
Enter Chow, who earned a reputation as an offensive guru in both the college and pro ranks. Not only does he get his own interview slots, but he also has full control over the offense.
"It's Norm's show," said Whittingham, who in the past hasn't given such control to other offensive coordinators. "It's his offense. He was brought here for a reason, and it was to install and implement a West Coast offense and more pro-style offense, and he has complete autonomy."
The anticipation is that Chow can give the Utes' offense a boost similar to the one he gave USC when he worked with Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart and the Trojans won national titles in 2003 and 2004.
However, Chow warns that the buzz about his offense is greater than the changes he has made.
"People are making a bigger deal out of it than it is," he said. "Utah won 33 games the last three years, why change much? It's not that different at all. We have Jordan more under center, which allows him more play-action passes and rhythmic stuff, but we didn't need to change a lot of things. Utah has already been successful and done a terrific job with the offense."
Even so, the Utes haven't had much consistency with their offensive coordinators. Chow is the fourth to serve during Whittingham's reign, following Andy Ludwig, who left for Kansas State, and later Cal, in 2008, Dave Schramm (2009) and the duo last year of Schramm and Aaron Roderick — the latter of whom called the plays last year after starting midway through 2009.
Both Schramm and Roderick remain on staff, with Schramm coaching the running backs and Roderick coaching the receivers.
Roderick said he understands the change and is OK stepping aside to make room for Chow.
"I'm fine with it," he said. "We get along fine and the offense isn't as different as everyone thinks. We were in the shotgun last year but people were in the mindset that we were spread all over the field, and that wasn't the case. We didn't have any designed runs for the QB last year and we played with a tight end and fullbacks a lot, so as far as who is on the field, it's not as different as people might think."
Still, the offense came under fire last year when the Utes lost three of their last five games and had a recurring theme of relying too much on the defense to create scoring opportunities and bail the offense out of tough situations after turnovers.
"We don't want to put the defense in bad situations where we're not moving the chains and making first downs, and we have to keep the ball in our possession," Whittingham said, thinking back to the shortcomings in 2010. "We have to take care of the football, that is job one."
Still, the offense wasn't to a point where Whittingham said he was looking to make a change. He simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to hire Chow, who became available at the end of the 2010 season after a rocky stint at UCLA.
The Bruins averaged only 20.2 points a game in 2010 and ranked 116th in passing yards (141.1) and 32nd in rushing yards (175.6). Adding to the struggles was a clash in philosophies between Chow and UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, who wanted more of a "pistol" offense.
At Utah, Chow will have his quarterback at his preferred spot, under center, a style that fits Wynn better, too. A strong throwing arm, not running, is Wynn's game. He rushed 18 times in 2010, gaining 41 yards but losing 52 yards. Those are hardly the numbers of a spread-offense quarterback.
Understandably, Wynn is perhaps the player who is most excited about the offensive changes.
"This is more like I ran in high school," he said. "It's a balanced offense, so it's tough to defend. You can run the ball downhill and with the play action, it's just better."
Chow knows the pressure is on him as much as it is on the junior quarterback to deliver for the Utes. After struggles with the NFL's Titans and at UCLA, Chow might have as much to prove as anyone. However, he downplays those expectations as much as the changes to the offense.
"I don't pay attention to what anyone else says. I'm old enough to do that," he said. "I just want to win and want to do well for the school and the young people. It's no big deal for me."
Norm Chow's coaching experience
2008-2010 • UCLA offensive coordinator: Bruins averaged 20 points a game.
2005-2007 • Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator: Mentored QB Vince Young, but was fired in January 2008 after the Titans were last in the league with just nine touchdown passes.
2001-2004 • USC offensive coordinator: Trojans won national titles in 2003 and 2004 and set the Pac-10 record for points in a season (534) in 2003.
2000 • North Carolina State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: He was with N.C. State just one year before heading back West.
1990-99 • BYU assistant head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: BYU ranked in nation's top 10 of total offense in 12 of Chow's 18 years as O.C.
Early years
1982-89 • BYU co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
1975-81 • BYU wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator
1973-74 • BYU graduate assistant