Utah Utes football: Norm Chow to be head coach at Hawaii

Chow has coached three Heisman Trophy winners (BYU's Ty Detmer as well as Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC) in his career and was on the staff of three national championship teams (BYU, 1984; USC 2003-04). He won the Broyles Award, honoring the nation's top assistant coach, in 2002.

Chow became Utah's offensive coordinator on Jan. 22, 2011, returning to the school where he met his wife, Diane, and earned two degrees,

"I'm awfully honored and blessed to be here. I really am," Chow said. "This is really exciting for me."

When asked if his potential departure could become a distraction as the Utes prepare for their ninth consecutive bowl game, Chow is confident it won't develop into such.

"If it were a distraction, I wouldn't be around," he said.

KITV, a television station in Honolulu, is reporting that Chow emerged from a group of finalists that include Texas associate head coach Duane Akina, Oregon State defensive coordinator Mark Banker, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and Baylor assistant head coach Brian Norwood..

The Hawaii job opened up when former Utah defensive coordinator Greg McMackin retired after four seasons at the helm.

Utes on the air

Sun Bowl

Utah (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (8-4)

Dec. 31, noon MT

El Paso, Texas

TV: CBS

Radio: 700 AM

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Twitter: @DirkFacer