HONOLULU — Hawaii’s worst home defeat in program history was the last under Norm Chow.
Chow was fired as football coach Sunday, a day after a 58-7 loss to Air Force dropped the Rainbow Warriors to 2-7.
Athletic director David Matlin said Chris Naeole will finish the season as interim head coach.
The 69-year-old Chow was 10-36 overall and 4-25 in the Mountain West Conference in four seasons at Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors are 0-5 this season in the Mountain West and are on a six-game losing streak.
“Ultimately, we feel this decision is in the best interest of the university and athletics department and we need to move in a different direction,” Matlin said in a statement.
Hawaii is far from the only school looking for a coach. With Chow’s dismissal and the announced retirement of Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer on Sunday, there are 10 openings among FBS schools.
Named the nation’s top assistant as an offensive coordinator at USC in 2002, Chow was never able to replicate the success as a head coach. Hawaii went 3-9 overall and 1-7 in the Mountain West in 2013, dipped to 1-11 and 0-8 in 2013, and was 4-9 and 3-5 last season.
There was speculation Chow’s job was in jeopardy last year, but ultimately the school retained him for a fourth season, deciding against a buyout that would have cost it more than $700,000.
According to reports, Chow will receive the remainder of his contract this year, he makes $550,000 annually, as well as $200,000 in 2016, the final year of his deal.
“I’d like to thank Coach Chow for his dedication to our football program for the past four years,” Matlin said. “Coach Chow should be commended for helping our football program achieve all-time highs in APR scores and graduation rates.”
Naeole, assistant head coach and offensive line coach, is in his third season on the Hawaii staff. The 1992 Kahuku (Oahu) graduate played nine years in the NFL. His first game as coach comes Saturday at UNLV.
The blowout loss Saturday night eliminated the Rainbow Warriors’ chances of reaching bowl eligibility and assured them a fifth consecutive losing season.
“I’m not worried about my job,” Chow said in a postgame news conference. “I’ve been through this a long time, so my issue really has nothing to do with this football game. There’s 65 guys in there that are hurting and you’re worried about me? Come on. Give me a break.”
From Honolulu, Chow took over the Hawaii program after a long run as an assistant coach with BYU, North Carolina State, Southern California, the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, UCLA and alma mater Utah. He was the offensive coordinator on national championship staffs at BYU in 1984 and Southern California in 2003 and ‘04, and coached Heisman Trophy winners Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinert.