Now that Norm Chow has left to become the head coach at Hawaii, we will never know what kind of effect he could have had on the Utah football program.
The quarterback he was dealt, Jordan Wynn, was never fully recovered from his shoulder surgery in 2010, and his season was cut short by another shoulder injury in Utah's Pac-12 opener against Washington.
The quarterback Chow was then forced to play, Jon Hays, was not nearly ready for prime time. Hays was an average Division-II quarterback, let alone a Pac-12 quarterback. So Chow was forced to run John White 150 times per game, or at least it seemed like it.
When you think about it, it's really a miracle the Utes offense put up as many points as it did this season with a guy like Hays taking the snaps.
Chow, who has been the guru to great quarterbacks like Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart never was able to bring in his own guy to make their mark on the Utes.
All that hype, all those expectations that were put on Chow when he was hired back in January are now gone like a wave hitting Waikiki Beach.
You can't blame Chow for taking the Hawaii job. Afterall, the man has been an assistant coach for 38 years without ever being the man in charge. Chow grew up a mere 10 miles from the Hawaii campus, so this really will be a special homecoming for him.
Some people say the game passed Chow by years ago. That may be true, but it's just a shame we'll never know what impact he could have had with a few years of Pac-12 recruits.
