Let's see, Keith Jackson is praising him on network TV. National TV cameras zoom in on him as he sits in the press box. He is a finalist for a national award. He just helped USC hand Notre Dame one of its worst defeats ever. His team is going to a major bowl.
Could things be going any better for Norm Chow?
Talk about landing on your feet. Three years ago BYU fans wanted to buy him a one-way ticket out of town. Now he can name his ticket.
Chow is hot. If you could have bought Norm Chow stock, three months ago would have been a good time to do it. Or three years ago.
Is living well really the best revenge? He owns an oceanfront townhouse in California. He is paid $325,000 a year. He has been given a Cadillac and a large down payment for the above house.
Leaving BYU was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Does he feel vindicated?
"Naaah," he says. "I don't pay attention to that kind of thing. It was time to go. I knew that. There comes a time when you've got to go. I retired from BYU. I get a check every month from BYU till the day I die."
Chow, one of the most visible assistant coaches in nation, has transformed Tailback U. into BYU-Los Angeles. The 10-2 Trojans rank among the nation's top 10 in passing and total offense and quarterback Carson Palmer is one of the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy, which would be the second one for one of Chow's quarterbacks, by the way.
The BYU offense of the '80s and '90s is alive and well in L.A. The Trojans have scored 30 or more points in seven straight games — all victories.
During last Saturday's 44-13 rout of Notre Dame, the TV cameras showed Chow leaning over his notes in the press box while the venerable Jackson boasted of the coach's offensive prowess. The Trojans rolled up 610 yards, 425 of them through the air.
After the game, Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register wrote, "No offense to (USC head coach Pete) Carroll, but my Pac-10 Coach of the Year is USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow."
When asked why USC was more successful moving the ball against Notre Dame than other teams, wide receiver Mike Williams told the Register, "Probably because we have Coach Chow — and they don't."
Chow has taken his bag of BYU tricks to Los Angeles, not to mention a couple of friends. Steve Sarkisian, who quarterbacked BYU to a 14-1 season and a Cotton Bowl victory in 1996, coaches USC's quarterbacks. Keith Uperesa, who also played at BYU and later served as a graduate assistant for the Cougars, coaches offensive tackles and tight ends at USC.
Chow is one of the hottest coaching commodities in the country. For the second time in six years, he is one of five finalists for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant coach. The University of Utah is probably just the first of many teams that will come calling for his services in the offseason.
Just don't try to get any hint of satisfaction from Chow. He's still issuing the "We've-just-got-to-keep-working-hard" quotes. He slept on a couch in his office before the Notre Dame game. He can afford that kind of dedication to his work since his wife continues to live in Provo while their youngest son finishes high school. "Maybe because we're not there it allows him to devote a little more time to football," says Diane Chow.
Seeing that LaVell Edwards' retirement was coming soon and figuring that Gary Crowton would replace Edwards, Chow left BYU in 1999 after more than two decades there. He spent one season at North Carolina State, helping to turn the program around in a single season with another BYU-like attack. A year later he was lured to USC by Carroll and a big paycheck.
At one time he aspired to replace Edwards as a head coach, but these days he seems content to do what he does best — coach offenses.
"I don't want to be a head coach," Chow told the Deseret News this week. "There are two kinds of assistant coaches: those who want to be head coaches and those who are happy being assistants."
But whether he can resist more big-money offers to become a head coach this winter remains to be seen.
E-mail: drob@desnews.com