Norm Chow and Vince Young Aren't Big Buddies

Posted Aug 27, 2008 7:51PM By JJ Cooper (RSS feed)

There have been plenty of hints that former Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow and quarterback Vince Young didn't see eye to eye, but now we have the final confirmation.

When the Titans were looking to draft a quarterback, Chow was obviously involved. After seeing both Young and Matt Leinart's workouts, Chow was sure the Titans should take Leinart. His opinion was probably somewhat swayed by the fact that he'd coached Leinart at Southern Cal.

"Everyone knew who I wanted and... the minute that they took Vince I told my wife, 'I think my days are numbered here.'"

The Titans tried to get Young to fit in Chow's offense, but it didn't really work, which is why he's now at UCLA and Mike Hemindinger is trying to fix the Titans' offensive problems.

But the funny thing is that while Chow views the drafting of Young as the beginning of the end in Tennessee for him, Leinart hasn't proven him right. He does have a slightly higher quarterback rating (71.2 to 69.0), but Young has more touchdowns (31 to 15), more wins (18 to 7) and a playoff appearance. Young may have his problems, but he'd probably kill for the chance to throw to Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-27-2008 @ 9:16PM

AMart7 said...

Well, Leinert is a bit of a jerk, but VY is a jerk AND stupid! I will take Leinert.

8-28-2008 @ 12:52AM

Nate said...

I don't know what Leinart's problem is. It's not like he didn't come into a good offense...he has great weapons at receiver, a good running back to keep things balanced (who's also quite nifty at catching swings from the backfield) and an average o-line. NO excuses for him to be as bad as he's been.

8-28-2008 @ 1:02AM

Braddahmike said...

It seems many people are taking this interview and misinterpreting what Norm is saying. Norm said what he said not because he doesn't like Vince....but because Titans' front office didn't really take his opinion seriously. Look at it from Norm's angle. A QB that had 4 plus years in Norm's system, Titans need a QB, and it's almost too good to be true. Instead, they bring in a QB who doesn't fit any system. Not a knock on VY, just the truth. VY has a decent rookie year and they just miss the playoffs. Last year they make the playoffs and Norm gets the ax. Norm was upfront with Vince from the get go and said that he wanted Matt, not because he didn't like Vince, but duh...because the guy already knows his offense. This is a non-story.

8-28-2008 @ 6:30AM

giant fan since 57 said...

It's funny, when I watched Leinart's first game and saw the way he played I was sure he would be an instant success. Hell he looked like Steve Young. Who knows what happened. Maybe the curse of the Cardinals? The curse of distractions?

As for Young, It's obvious he has talent, the coaches have just not yet found the right game plan for him yet. And since we are comparing his performance to Leinart's, I agree that Matt had the better chance to look good early due to his better receivers.

8-28-2008 @ 9:00AM

Big Sam said...

How long will it take for Radio to get Heimerdinger fired???

8-28-2008 @ 9:27AM

Sandy said...

I wanted Leinart as well, being a Titan fan. However, I'm now a Young fan and I believe in him. The author is right though. Imagine the Titans with Boldin and Fitzgerald. They'd be amongst the elite and Young would be the face of ESPN.