Norm Chow to the Chargers!

As most of you already know, I'm a big Norm Chow fan. And why shouldn't I be? He's probably the highest profile Asian-American football coach in America. And he's brilliant. He's coached 3 Heisman Trophy winners, he's been successful everywhere he's coached, at every level, and he's a class guy.

SO WHY ISN'T HE A HEAD COACH?

He's definitely paid his dues, he's more than qualified, and he's clearly interested, having interviewed multiple times for head coaching positions. Yet, while 30 year old kids who haven't even been coordinators, ie. Lane Kiffin to the Raiders, are getting head coaching gigs, Chow continues to be the perpetual bridesmaid. Chow even coached Steve Sarkisian, the Raider's top choice, in college and was over both Sark and Kiffin while he was at USC.

While I'm convinced that there is some discrimination involved, I can understand the position of most college ADs. They have to appease their alumni/booster base who make significant contributions to school athletic funds and are often directly involved in the hiring and firing of ADs and coaches. I can also accept the argument that Chow is somewhat reserved and quiet, a style which might not work very well with 18-22 year olds, both in recruiting and game situations. Although I could argue that there are plenty of coaches who are not the "rah, rah" cheerleading types who have been very successful at the college level. I'm still a bit disappointed that he didn't get the Stanford job a couple years back. Not only is a significant part of the alumni base Asian, there's also little pressure from the alumni base with regards to football. I feel somewhat vindicated seeing Walt Harris bomb and released after 2 years. Stanford's loss, big-time.

All this brings me to my current argument, that Chow should be the leading candidate for the San Diego Chargers head coaching job. First of all, it's an NFL job. Owners have all the control. They don't have to answer to pushy boosters and alumni, in fear of losing their jobs/team. All they really have to do is produce a winning product. Secondly, Chow's personality/demeanor should work fine with an NFL team. He actually reminds me a bit of Bill Belichek, arguably the best NFL head coach of this generation. Thirdly, he's a great fit for the Chargers personnel. Chow has shown time and time again that he knows how to use offensive talent. Give him Philip Rivers(who he coached at NC State), LT, and Antonio Gates, and he will lead the league in scoring. Of course, he'll probably need to hire a good defensive coordinator, but if he wants to give me a chance, I'm ready. :)

By the way, here's a good read on the topic of Chow and minority hiring in football.
http://www.popmatters.com/sports/features/050303-normchow.shtml

Agent Zero and Team USA

As most of you already know, Gilbert Arenas, aka Agent Zero, has been on tilt ever since he was cut from the Team USA roster this past summer. He's been frequently quoted in the press blasting Coach K and his staff for the move.

The other night, Arenas predicted he would score 50 points against the Blazers, who are coached by Nate McMillan, an assistant coach for Team USA. He ended up scoring 9, and then got blasted by his own coach after the game. Eddie Jordan(the Wizards' head coach) was saying that no one on the team shows any leadership qualities, other than injured Antawn Jamison.

First of all, anyone who gives himself a nickname seems egomaniacal to me. Secondly, and more importantly, Arenas is just proving the Team USA coaches right by his childish behavior. Everyone knows that the revamped philosophy of USA basketball is to mold a cohesive, team-oriented group of players together into an effective unit. We've all seen what happens when you just throw a bunch of selfish, one-dimensional superstars on the floor. No matter how talented they are, they get beat by more disciplined, well-coached international teams with half the talent. With that in mind the Team USA staff has been trying to bring on players to fill specific roles, players that are willing to pass, defend, rebound, basically do anything that is required of them for the team to succeed. Not only that, they want players who will represent the country well, on and off the court.

Arenas, who also said he would give up a year of pro ball to play against and put up 80 on Duke, is exactly the kind of selfish player that is poisoning the game today. He may be a spectacular offensive talent, capable of averaging 30 pts/gm, but has he ever won a title? Does he make his teammates better?

With other options such as Carmelo, D. Wade, Kobe, and Lebron, it's no wonder there's no room on the Team USA roster for Arenas, or appropriately known as Agent Zero.