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Bestbuck36 said:
Wonder if Petey's got Chow on the "silent verbal" list like some of his recruits. :roll2:
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Former USC and current USC supporter Jeff Fisher might have Chow as a silent verbal.

Titans' pursuit of Chow may pick up speed soon

By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer

It took Coach Jeff Fisher just hours to identify and land a new receivers coach for the Titans.

His search for an offensive coordinator is 10 days old, and he says it could go on several more weeks.

The process may speed up on Wednesday, which is National Signing Day for college football.


If Fisher's search to replace Mike Heimerdinger does dip into the college ranks, then it would make sense to wait until after the nation's top recruits have signed before going after a school's coach.

Fisher has not mentioned Southern Cal offensive coordinator Norm Chow as a potential candidate, but that could change soon.

Fisher and Chow share a USC connection. Fisher played for the Trojans and remains a big supporter of the program. He attended USC's national championship victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl earlier this month.

Chow, 58, is one of the premier offensive coaches in college football and has been USC's offensive coordinator since 2001. The Trojans have won back-to-back national championships and produced Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks two of the past three seasons.

But Chow has turned down NFL opportunities before, and it's still unclear if he's willing to leap to the pros.

Judging from his recent comments in the Raleigh News & Observer, however, he may be ripe for the picking. ''I could be headed to the next level,'' Chow told the newspaper. ''That may be my next challenge.''

The Titans, Browns and Saints currently have offensive coordinator openings.

From his own staff, Fisher is expected to interview assistant head coach/offense George Henshaw and perhaps quarterbacks coach Craig Johnson.

Offensive line coach Mike Munchak has made it clear he's happy in his current position, but there's a chance Fisher may interview him for the coordinator position.

''I'm identifying different candidates. They are on my staff. … There are candidates with play-calling experience in the league, there are candidates who are position coaches right now on other teams, and there could potentially be candidates at the collegiate level,'' Fisher said yesterday.

''The process is, you just don't hire somebody based on a reputation, word of mouth or recommendation. There's due diligence that has to take place. We've been successful up to this point with these decisions we've made in the past, and it's because of the process. So I'm going to strictly follow the process.''

Haynesworth has back surgery: Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was scheduled to have surgery on his lower back yesterday in Los Angeles.

Dr. Robert Watkins, the back specialist who operated on quarterback Steve McNair in 1999, was to perform the surgery.

Haynesworth's problems were disc-related. He had some back discomfort at times this past season but worked through it with exercise.

Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said it's ''not a serious issue, but it's something that we felt we needed to take care of. We probably could have addressed the issue with exercise and treatment and so on, but in Dr. Watkins' opinion he felt like the best thing to do was to go ahead and correct the situation.''

Haynesworth should be back to full speed in six to eight weeks.

''With the plans we have for Albert this upcoming year, we need to get him in position where he can work,'' Fisher said. ''This was the best opportunity to do so.''

Curious QB: Quarterback Steve McNair continues to improve from last month's sternum surgery.

He's also keeping an eye on the search for a new offensive coordinator, but Fisher said he doesn't expect the team's decision to be a factor in McNair's decision about retirement.

''In Steve's case, certainly he's curious,'' Fisher said. ''I'll keep him involved and talk to him as far as how things are going.''

Fisher said McNair is ''very excited'' about new receivers coach Ray Sherman.

''He knows of Ray because of his relationship with Brett (Favre) and what Ray was able to do up there with the receivers for Brett,'' Fisher said. ''So he's very excited about that.''

Schwartz staying: The contract extension for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz remains on the verge of completion, Fisher said.

''It is literally just dotting the i's and crossing the t's,'' Fisher said. ''He won't be leaving us. I feel good about that and he does as well.''

Schwartz interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the 49ers earlier this month but is already working on next season with Titans defensive coaches.

Other surgeries: Receiver Drew Bennett had arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday but is expected to be back for minicamps in May and June.

Linebacker Cody Spencer had surgery to repair an athletic hernia.

Jim Wyatt covers the Titans for The Tennessean. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-8015.
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Is Chow a Silent Verbal to the Titans?
 
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The answer is yes...

He is headed to the Titans barring USC matching and beating the offer. Even then he still might go...

He feels if he proves his stuff in the NFL he will have an easier time getting a head coaching gig.
 
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I'm going to go one a ledge here..... I honestly think that Norm Chow is the only reason that USC has been so good as of late. I mean if you look at it you'll see that their offense is usually heads and toes above their defense. Now I know their defense is good, but their offense is scary. I think if you take the best OC in the NCAA away from them they'll struggle. Now I like petey (besides his recruiting tactics), but I believe Norm is maybe more responsible for the way USC has been playing.
 
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Now this is a surprise. To be fair, there were articles available online concerning this issue for the current USC recruits and their families to read. If they chose to sit back and not do any research, then shame on them.

Titans ready to interview USC’s Chow
By Terry McCormick, [email protected]
February 03, 2005

Norm Chow, offensive coordinator at two-time defending national champion Southern California, appears to be the first serious outside candidate who will get a look in filling the same role with the Tennessee Titans.

The Los Angeles Times reported in its Thursday editions that Tennessee would begin serious pursuit of Chow soon.

“You have to be,” Chow told the Times when asked of his potential interest in the Titans.

The Titans and coach Jeff Fisher treaded carefully where Chow was concerned up until National Signing Day Wednesday, so as not to harm any potential recruiting at USC, which is also Fisher’s alma mater.

Fisher is expected to talk with Chow soon, perhaps meeting with him as early as Friday or the weekend, about the possibility of Chow replacing the departed Mike Heimerdinger as the Titans’ offensive coordinator.

Chow, 58, has no coaching experience at the professional level, but is regarded as one of the most creative offensive minds at the collegiate level in his 30-plus years of coaching.

Chow also has a reputation as a quarterbacks guru, having helped develop during his career the likes of Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Phillip Rivers, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

There are no guarantees, however, that Chow is a shoo-in for the Titans position or that he can be enticed to leave the Trojans.

Chow is one of college football’s highest paid assistant coaches with a salary in the $500,000 range. However, that does not include the free education his two children are receiving at USC.

The Titans reportedly had an offer in the $800,000 territory on the table to Heimerdinger, a deal he scuttled in favor of a $1 million per year contract for three seasons with the New York Jets two weeks ago.

While luring Chow to Nashville from Los Angeles won’t be the easiest selling job, as Chow has purchased a house and put down some roots in the area, there has been speculation that Trojans head coach Pete Carroll might not stand in the way of Chow moving on, if he is interested in the Titans position.

Southern California has already lost offensive line coach Ed Orgeron to Ole Miss this offseason, and quarterbacks coach Carl Smith left to be offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

Carroll could offer Chow the assistant head coach title that Orgeron had to entice him to stay.

Chow had an interest in the Stanford head coaching job this offseason that went to Walt Harris, and had Carroll’s blessing to pursue that move.

Last week, Chow was quoted in a Raleigh, N.C., newspaper that he could be considering a move to the NFL.

In-house candidates Craig Johnson and George Henshaw are still in the running for the Titans offensive coordinator’s job as well.
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Chow to be interviewed - Nashville Paper

From the LA Times:

Chow and Titans Expected to Talk
# USC assistant is thought to be the front-runner to become the NFL team's offensive coordinator. He acknowledges his interest in the job.

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

One recruiting season ended Wednesday when USC announced another stellar class of incoming players.

Now, the pursuit of Trojan offensive coordinator Norm Chow by at least one NFL team is expected to begin in earnest this week.

Sources said Tennessee Titan Coach Jeff Fisher is expected to speak with Chow as soon as today and possibly meet with him in Nashville this weekend. Chow is regarded as a leading candidate to replace offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who left for the same position with the New York Jets.

The Titans had reportedly offered Heimerdinger about $800,000 annually to remain with the team, but he left when the Jets offered him about $1 million.

Chow is one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in college football, earning about $500,000 a year.

Asked if he would be interested in the Titans' job, Chow said, "You have to be."

USC Coach Pete Carroll said he was aware of the Titans' interest in Chow and would "never try to stand in anybody's way," if a member of his staff wanted to explore other opportunities.

Fisher, a former player at USC, held off pursuing Chow until after signing day so as not to affect the Trojans' recruiting efforts.

Several NFL teams contacted Chow informally last month after USC won its second consecutive national title with a victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

Carroll is considering a possible restructuring of his staff because of several departures since the Orange Bowl.

Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, who was also assistant head coach, left to become Mississippi's coach. Dennis Slutak, a graduate assistant who worked with special teams, joined Orgeron's staff in a full-time capacity. Carl Smith, who coached Trojan quarterbacks last season, was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars last month.

Sources said Trojan offensive line coach Tim Davis also has had discussions with unspecified NFL teams.

Of the open quarterback coach job on his staff, Carroll said he hoped to "have that done," by early next week.

He also said he would like to make graduate assistant Ken Norton a full-time member of the staff.
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Chow and Titans Expected to Talk
 
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As much as it would stink to lose Chow, I think any half-decent OC could do some amazing things with the talent they have collected. Plus they have an unreal amount of stars on defense, ones that would be able to keep them in games even if the OC struggles.

I don't think losing chow would turn me away from USC unless I was a QB. If USC had merely been a good recruiting class then perhaps it would have been a consideration, but who wouldn't want to join a recruiting class like this?

Well besides all of us here... just trying to play the devil's advocate and state that I think USC will be fine once he leaves. They will not be quite as dominant, but they will have more talent the next few years (except at RB since Petey's secret about #1 recruits has been exposed) then they did during their dominance the past two years.
 
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