U. has 2 coaching stars

Even Norm Chow seemed taken aback.

The Utes’ new offensive coordinator headed off the field after the team’s first spring football practice, Tuesday, and was thronged by reporters. Chow started slightly, smiled wryly and took a couple of steps back.

Everyone followed, so he stopped in his tracks.

“Whoa!” he said, looking surprised at the attention.

It was the first time I’ve ever seen any assistant coach around here getting as much attention as the head coach. So I asked head coach Kyle Whittingham if he’d ever seen an offensive coordinator get as much media coverage as himself.

“Oh, no, that’s great,” Whittingham said. “If we can continue that trend, that’s great.”

Better Chow dealing with the media than him.

Clearly, Chow will draw a lot of attention at Utah. He and Whittingham have strong coaching personalities. As visible as Chow is, if the two ever had conflicts, they’ll likely be a lot more public than with a less prominent offensive coordinator.

Meanwhile, there’s also the possible of a quarterback controversy this year, but after one day, don’t plan on it. (Though Jordan Wynn will be working out on a limited basis with the team, he won’t throw in spring drills.) Chow is already teasing Wynn about wanting to coach one more Heisman winner before retiring.
deseretnews.com

Asked about a possible quarterback controversy, Whittingham said, “We’ll see how things shake out and how the young guys look in the spring. It’s not set in stone, it never is, the best guys play, but Jordan Wynn is a pretty good quarterback.”