Offensive deck was stacked against Chow
It’s no longer Chow Time in Tennessee as highly touted offensive coordinator Norm Chow has been sent packing, his impressive r??sum?? and 50 cents not able to even afford a cup of coffee in Nashville.
After three years in Nashville, Chow was given his walking papers following a 10-6 season and the Titans’ first appearance in the playoffs since 2003. However, a stagnant offense which rated 21st in the NFL and saw signal-calling phenom Vince Young throw for nine touchdowns against 18 interceptions seemed to be the Achilles heel of the Titans during 2007. This, and what many fans believed was an unimaginative offense, led to the somewhat unexpected dismissal of the 61-year-old.
There is a split of opinion, to be sure, on how effective Chow was as an offensive coordinator given how anemic the Titans’ offense was this year. And, seeing he has put in for every head coaching job west of the Mississippi, there was real doubt he would be a long-time fixture in Nashville seeing sooner or later, he will get his head coaching debut.
There’s no debating Chow has a real pedigree when it comes to being a successful offensive coordinator. And, he wasn’t a one-trick pony out in USC where he tutored Heisman winning quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, and Heisman winning back Reggie Bush, and won a BCS championship.
The one-time professional football player, seeing a stint as a Saskatchewan Roughrider in the Canadian Football League before entering the coaching side, brought along other notable big-time quarterbacks. He tutored the college careers of Jim McMahon (Chicago Super Bowl quarterback) and Steve Young (Niner great) when they played college ball at Brigham Young, helping win a national title there in 1985. After serving at BYU from 1973 to 1999, he went to North Carolina State in 2000 and tutored Philip Rivers, the Charger quarterback who put the Titans out of the playoffs this year. It’s safe to say he has seen success with bringing along great offensive players.
With that said, I’m one of those people who feel the deck was stacked against Chow. He began with an injured Steve McNair and a salary cap decimated team, the worst in Titan history. Then, the following year he has to bring along a rookie quarterback who went 8-8 despite a horrible defense. Most recently, he had an injured quarterback and a bunch of skill position players who couldn’t catch a cold, let alone a football in the NFL. Chow was basically, in poker terms, having to play a pair of deuces in an all-in pot where the offense’s overachievement the year before actually hurt him during 2007 when so much more was expected. And, by the way, it’s Dr. Norm Chow seeing he has a doctorate in education.
While siding with Chow on his credentials, I actually like his replacement better as Mike Heimerdinger, who has been assistant coach with Denver, is returning to Nashville. Unlike Chow, who is a quiet and operates within the system, Heimerdinger is an in-your-face type of leader, who, I believe, the Titans are needing. He was the coordinator from 2000-2004 for the Titans, seeing both feast and famine. With his return he inherits a quarterback in Vince Young who I believe has an incredible upside. It will be the skill positions in which he will have to make improvements. If he can do that, Chow Time won’t even be missed.