Rick Neuheisel coveted Chow, a Punahou School alum and former Waialua High football coach, from the moment he was hired as Bruins coach in late December, but the chances of landing the 61-year-old coach were minuscule. That changed when Chow was fired by the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 14.

After taking a few days to discuss the situation with his family, Chow agreed to sign on across town from where he developed two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks for USC. Chow spent four seasons with the Trojans.

Chow has long been considered an innovative and effective offensive coordinator. He spent 18 seasons as offensive coordinator at Brigham Young, where he directed an aerial circus that won the national title in 1984. Under his guidance at USC, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart won Heisman Trophies, while the Trojans won national titles in 2003 and 2004.

Chow, who has a home in Los Angeles, had interviewed for the UCLA head coach job but withdrew his name, though sources at the university said he was already out of the running.