We might be at a peaceful WHITCON 5, but the coaching news isn't quite over yet.
Hawaii is in search of a new head man and both Norm Chow and Kalani Sitake are candidates.
In fact, rumors are flying Sitake might actually be set to interview for the job sometime this week.
Chow, of course, is a native of Hawaii and applied for the job in 2007 when June Jones left for SMU.
He didn't get it.
I don't think he'll get it this time, either, and suspect his applying was mostly done out of respect for the institution. Is he dead-set on coaching there? Probably not. Would he take the job if offered? Probably. Does he believe, deep down, he'll get it? I have my doubts.
The one that could be lost is Sitake, who is an up and coming assistant and has established a fierce and aggressive defense here at Utah. Of course, he's from the Whittingham coaching tree and with the success of Gary Andersen at Utah State, the hire could make sense.
Even so, Sitake has only been a coordinator for three seasons and they might want to go with a coach who's at least held a head job before (remember, Andersen, prior to arriving at Utah, coached Southern Utah for a season).
So, whose loss would hurt more for the Utes? I think Chow and it isn't even close. I respect Sitake and believe he's a good coach and a solid recruiter, but let's not pretend Whittingham doesn't at least have some control over this defense. Moreover, we've already proven, the last three seasons, the program can easily make the transition between defensive coordinators.
Not so on offense. Utah has had four offensive coordinators dating back to the '08 season and that instability has certainly hurt in some regards. Andy Ludwig was always a divisive coordinator here and neither Aaron Roderick or Dave Schramm could produce sustainable offenses, especially against good teams.
Chow, though, is an experienced offensive guru who had a great impact at keeping Utah competitive this season, even without their starting quarterback. He's also been money in the recruiting game and a big reason Travis Wilson and Chase Hansen will soon be at Utah.
I don't want to replace that. So, while the focus on Chow might seem like I'm dismissing Sitake, this is more about confirming how great he is to the program.
That's why I'm rolling out CHOWCON...because, well, I lack originality.
Currently, we're at CHOWCON 4 because I am not convinced he is a probable candidate for the Hawaii job.
That could change, though. But until it does, we'll remain there.
