Carroll-Chow Relationship Isn’t Strained: Credulity Is

It began with a pre-Orange Bowl column in The Times, and the suggestion that USC Coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow were struggling to keep their working relationship intact.

A Los Angeles Daily News story followed last week, quoting sources, of course, and unnamed friends of Chow who said he was “hurt” and “upset” because of possible changes on the USC coaching staff, and that he was now contemplating leaving the school because of his “strained relationship” with Carroll.

The Daily Trojan on Monday delivered a Chow/Carroll story under the headline “Why can’t we all just be friends?” while basing much of it on the Daily News’ suggestion that Chow is “hurt” and “upset.”

When Carroll got to work Monday, a story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was waiting for him: “USC’s Carroll Making Chow’s Exit Easy,” which credited KJR radio’s David Locke in Seattle “for being one of the first to take the story public -- Carroll is practically pushing Chow out the door.”

So what do Carroll and Chow have to say?

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CHOW DID not return a phone call Monday night, when he reportedly was mulling an offer from the Tennessee Titans that would triple his USC salary -- like that presents a tough decision. But earlier in the day he made an appearance on the Fred Roggin radio show, which makes you wonder whether Chow is feeling all right these days.

For the most part he danced around Roggin’s questions, but when asked about the reports of his “strained” relationship with Carroll, Chow scoffed.

“None whatsoever,” he said. “That’s silly, absolutely silly.”

To suggest otherwise, as the media have done, would now be calling Chow a liar.

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CARROLL, MEANWHILE, finished playing basketball in USC’s P.E. building, showing very little defense, and so I thought I had him, poking fun at his game until he explained he had been guarding Mike Garrett’s kid.

Good thing I asked, or I might’ve concluded Carroll had lost a step, when in fact he was taking into consideration the big picture once again -- keeping the boss happy by letting his kid score at will.

How about keeping Chow happy? I asked, and he laughed.

“I’ve told Norm repeatedly that I love him and want him to stay here,” Carroll said. “But he’s so valuable, it’s inevitable he’s going to leave. And this opportunity in Tennessee is a really good one.”

But what about these newspaper reports? “I showed the Seattle story to Norm today, we talked and it’s ridiculous,” Carroll said. “There are stories, but that’s OK, because they’re not true. There is no friction whatsoever between Norm and I.”

What about the reports that Chow was “hurt” and “upset” because of possible changes on the USC coaching staff?

“It’s normal with evolving changes and uncertainty for people to feel uncomfortable,” Carroll said. “We’ve talked about a number of things, but no final determinations have been made. We’ve lost four coaches so far, and things are going to change, which creates a little discomfort.

“Ken Norton would like to know if he’s going to be a graduate assistant forever. Mark Jackson would like to know about his situation. We lost our offensive line coach [to the Miami Dolphins] and have another candidate coming in [today]. We have uncertainty at all different levels.”

There were reports Chow was concerned about being given an administrative promotion but in effect losing his play-calling duties.

“We’ve discussed play-calling, administrative things and all kinds of stuff,” Carroll said. “For the past three years, there was always the possibility of Norm leaving seemingly the next day. I thought he was going to get the Stanford job. It’s my job to make sure everyone knows the program won’t fall apart if Norm leaves, and so I’m making sure we have a backup for every aspect of the program.”

Carroll has given Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin credit for being his mentor, and there’s talk Carroll would like to repay Kiffin by giving his kid, Lane, more offensive responsibilities on USC’s staff at Chow’s expense.

“Lane is a phenomenal coach who has had incredible input already in a lot of things, and at a young age,” Carroll said. “I think I need to keep bringing in young guys to keep moving forward. Jethro Franklin left the Packers to come here because he wants to be a college head coach and wants to see how we do things here.”

As for Chow, he failed to get the head-coaching job he wanted, which might now make the financial leap to the NFL too attractive to reject.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with Norm, and he’s been told that clearly,” Carroll said. “But this is happening precisely how I thought it would from the first day I talked to Norm. There was never any question he was going to get the chance to improve his situation, and it’s my job to be ready when that happens.”

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STEPHEN A. SMITH, TV screamer and Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, was a guest on the Billy Ray Smith/Scott Kaplan radio show over the weekend from the Super Bowl, and he told everyone, “I’m an information guy.”

He also told everyone, “I have no factual evidence to base this on,” while also indicating he had no inside information, “but I personally believe that drinking played a part” in Rudy Tomjanovich’s decision to step down as the Lakers’ coach.

Rudy T. said last week alcohol played no part in leaving the Lakers, and while holding a hand high in the air, he said he was proud to say that it could have, but it didn’t. The bottom line, as Smith likes to say, is that he didn’t believe Rudy T. and was shamelessly irresponsible enough to say so.

By the way, Smith’s new TV show will be on ESPN2 this summer, and should be a nice complement to Cold Pizza and Around the Screaming Horn.

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WHY AM I not surprised that Karl Malone continues flirting with the possibility of playing again?

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.