Norm Chow’s contract may delay UCLA coaching moves

Norm Chow’s contract situation at UCLA could delay Coach Rick Neuheisel’s attempts to reshape his staff.

Although Neuheisel has zeroed in on a new offensive coordinator, he still must shed himself of Chow, his offensive coordinator for the last three seasons. Neuheisel and former San Francisco assistant Mike Johnson have been in talks.

UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said Wednesday that no one had been offered a job.

Chow’s situation probably will need to be resolved first.

If Chow quits, he will not receive any money from his two-year contract extension. If he is fired, he will receive the full amount. If Chow is hired elsewhere, the amount of his new contract will be deducted from what UCLA owes him. The deal is believed to be worth about $1 million.

UCLA officials and Chow are expected to work on a financial settlement, according to a person inside the program who has knowledge of the situation but is not authorized to speak on the subject. The negotiations could go into next week.

Chow could also be demoted and assigned to other duties for the duration of his contract.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham has had talks with Chow. Utah’s top assistant coach made $170,000 last season, according to the Tribune.

Chow did not respond to text messages. Don Yee, Chow’s agent, did not return telephone calls.

Neuheisel declined to comment.

— Chris Foster

Stanford promotes Shaw to replace Harbaugh

David Shaw arrived as an assistant on the Stanford coaching staff with Jim Harbaugh four years ago with the task of rebuilding a one-win team.

Shaw, Stanford’s offensive coordinator, was promoted Thursday to replace Harbaugh and maintain the Cardinal’s place as a national contender after their most successful season in decades.

“We’ve got a good football team, a team that’s tough, physical and eager to pick up where we left off,” Shaw said during his introductory news conference. “Our schemes are going to be the same. We’re going to be very similar. We’re going to be aggressive on defense. We’re going to be aggressive on offense.”

Shaw, 38, beat out fellow assistants Greg Roman and Vic Fangio, among others, to take over the program less than a week after Harbaugh left to become coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

“His contribution to the current state of affairs of our football program is immeasurable,” Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. “It has been an interesting and exciting fall. This is, in my estimation, the most logical step we can take. This speaks volumes about Stanford and the experience student-athletes have.”

Bowlsby consulted Stanford players, including star quarterback Andrew Luck, before making the hire. Luck had praise for the new coach.

“He’s a Stanford man. I’ve known that since he was recruiting me coming out of high school — a deep, abiding love and respect for Stanford. You can really tell that,” Luck said. “He’s going to do a wonderful job with this program, and the players are behind him 100%.”

Shaw is the son of Willie Shaw, a former Stanford and longtime NFL assistant. David Shaw was a receiver at Stanford from 1991 to 1994 under Dennis Green and Bill Walsh. He was an assistant in the NFL for Philadelphia, Oakland and Baltimore before joining Harbaugh as an assistant at the University of San Diego.

Shaw could have to replace much of the coaching staff, as Harbaugh is interested in bringing Fangio, Roman and others with him to the NFL.

The job Shaw inherits is much more desirable than the one Harbaugh took over after Stanford finished 1-11 in 2006 under Walt Harris.

The Cardinal improved each season under Harbaugh, making a bowl game in his third year and going 12-1 this past season, capped by a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. That helped Stanford finish fourth in the final AP poll, its best ranking since the unbeaten 1940 team finished No. 2.

The Orange Bowl trophy was on display for Shaw’s formal introduction, a day before about 20 recruits will be on campus for visits.

Expectations will be high again next season after last week’s decision by Heisman Trophy runner-up Luck to return for another season.

“We’ve got a pretty good quarterback you might have heard of,” Shaw said.

Pasqualoni will coach UConn

Connecticut has hired former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni as its head coach. The school said a news conference introducing Pasqualoni would be held Friday.

Pasqualoni, the Dallas Cowboys’ interim defensive coordinator, was fired by Syracuse after the 2004 season.

Dallas Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett released a statement Thursday saying Connecticut was getting “everything that a college program would want from a leadership perspective.”

The 61-year-old native of Cheshire, Conn., replaces Randy Edsall, who took the head coaching job at Maryland after leading Connecticut to an 8-5 season and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl, where the Huskies lost to Oklahoma, 48-20.

Fairley to announce plans Friday

Lombardi Award winner Nick Fairley of Auburn is to announce Friday if he plans to skip his senior season and make himself available for the NFL draft. The junior defensive tackle could be the top overall pick. Underclassmen have until Saturday to declare for the draft.

Fairley was the defensive most valuable player of the Tigers’ Bowl Championship Series title game victory Monday against Oregon. He had a sack, three tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. He led the Southeastern Conference with 24 tackles for loss and had a school-record 11 1/2 sacks.

Etc.

Chad Morris was introduced Thursday as the new offensive coordinator at Clemson. He was the offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Morris, introduced by Coach Dabo Swinney as the new leader of the Tigers’ offense, promised to play power football that will dictate tempo and overwhelm defenses. … Louisiana State’s leading rusher, Stevan Ridley, said he’s going to the NFL draft. However, LSU spokesman Michael Bonnette said Coach Les Miles and running backs coach Frank Wilson are hoping to meet with Ridley and his mother to find out if there’s anything they can do to bring Ridley back to the Tigers. The 6-foot, 223-pound junior spent his first full season as a starter in 2010, rushing for 1,147 yards and 15 touchdowns. … Kentucky wide receiver Randall Cobb said he will bypass his senior season and make himself available for the NFL draft. The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Cobb led Kentucky with 955 yards receiving, 401 yards rushing and 12 total touchdowns. Cobb, who was selected a first-team All-American as an all-purpose player, also threw for three scores and returned a punt for a touchdown. … Miami hired Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch to be its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Fisch will remain with the Seahawks for the remainder of their playoff run. … Gary Crowton resigned as Louisiana State’s offensive coordinator and said he will take a similar post at Maryland.