Legends always come home and the record breaking gunslinger from Hawaii is back to coach the Rainbow Warriors in 2022.
Timmy Chang passed for 17,072 yards and 117 touchdowns from 2000 to 2004 with the Rainbow Warriors. He was named WAC Freshman of the Year in 2000, was a 2003 Unitas Golden Arm Finalist, and was named second team WAC in 2002 and first team in 2004. He also won the Hawaii Bowl twice in 2003 and 2004.
Chang held the most all time passing yards record until Houston quarterback Case Keenum eclipsed him.
While Chang was a great college quarterback, he went undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft. After starting training camp with the Cardinals, Chang was cut and bounced around the NFL and CFL for a few seasons. Following an unsuccessful stint with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2008, he retired.
After completing his bachelors degree at Hawaii in 2009, he got back into coaching in 2012. June Jones, who was Changs head coach at Hawaii, hired him as a graduate assistant at SMU. He was there from 2012 to 2013 before taking a job at Jackson State as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Chang stuck around at Jackson State from 2014 to 2015 and then took the job as the offensive coordinator at division two Emory and Henry. After one year at Emory and Henry, he returned west to Nevada.
In his first season at Nevada in 2017, Chang coached the slot receivers and in 2018 to 2020 he worked with the tight ends. For the 2021 season, Chang bumped back out to receiver.
Todd Graham was the Rainbow Warriors head coach from 2020 to 2021. He resigned this offseason after allegations of player mistreatment surfaced. It came to the public eye that there was a mutiny afoot in Hawaiis locker room when the players voted to not play in the Hawaii Bowl because of injuries, Covid-19 cases, and a competitive disadvantage.
Graham had no knowledge of this players vote.
Fans seem to be happy about the hiring of Chang. Bringing back a legend is always a fan favorite and has worked for some teams in the past. I’m excited for the Chang era at Hawaii in hopes that he’ll make the Rainbow Warriors relevant again.