The old college try plays well at UCLA

There were whispers, there were wide eyes, but nobody really thought he would try it, did they?

The UCLA football coach was going to attempt to steal a prized chunk of passion from the USC football coach?

Rick Neuheisel was really going to bang on Pete Carroll’s door, wait until it opened, then shout over Carroll’s broad shoulders at Ken Norton?

Neuheisel had no appropriate vacancies, no big money packages, nothing to offer but himself, yet he was going to stand chin-to-chin with Carroll and proposition Norton anyway?

Your UCLA family wants you to come home!

Yeah, Neuheisel tried it. And, officially, it didn’t work. But unofficially, it couldn’t have worked better.

Norton, the emotional soul of USC’s defense, told The Times’ Gary Klein on Tuesday he had turned down an offer to become a UCLA assistant head coach because it wasn’t a great fit.

But for Neuheisel, it was a great effort in a month filled with them.

This hot blast of fresh Bruin has turned his first off-season into a two-minute drill, risks taken, stereotypes shaken, news flying everywhere.

About the only thing more brash would be an attempt to hire former Trojans offensive coordinator Norm Chow.

Who, incidentally, was fired from the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday.

Everyone duck.

“There is no doubt, this shows that Rick is secure in himself and his approach,” said David Norrie, former UCLA quarterback and an analyst for ESPN and ABC. “He’s going after any coach he thinks would be the best for his staff, no matter what.”

If Chow would come, Neuheisel would hire him, a move that would rattle parts of this town from now until Dec. 6.

If the attempt to hire Norton was a jab, the successful hiring of Chow would be a roundhouse.

The offensive mastermind behind two USC national titles and Heisman Trophies sitting in the press box for UCLA?

The guy who left town after clashing with Carroll, coming back to clash with Carroll?

Chow still lives in the South Bay. He has a child attending USC. It all makes perfect sense, except for the cents. He is owed more than $1 million a year for two years by the Titans. Why work if you could get that money for nothing?

“It would be fun to coach again in this town, but I also might just want to fade into the sunset,” Chow, 61, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I’ve always wanted to take a year off. Pete Carroll did it and it seemed to work for him.”

When reached by phone, Neuheisel would not comment on Chow, but you know he probably called him that night.

He’s been singular in his willingness to seek out coaches who would easily threaten a more insecure man.

“You try to put people in the best positions to flourish, then make them understand they will get the lion’s share of the credit when they do,” Neuheisel said. “In the end, there will be enough accolades for everybody.”

None of this hiring philosophy means anything, of course, unless his teams indeed flourish. Neuheisel’s first real steps will not be taken with a telephone in January, but at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 30 against Fresno State, the first of three consecutive games against teams that finished this season with bowl victories.

His first chapter has yet to be written. But as far as prefaces go, his story is already pretty interesting.

It started this winter with the rehiring of defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, which was highly unusual for two reasons.

The first being, Walker was a finalist for the job Neuheisel got, which makes this sort of like a new president hiring his defeated opponent as vice president.

The second reason is, Neuheisel granted Walker’s request to keep two other defensive coaches, Todd Howard and Chuck Bullough, which is sort of like a new boss letting his employees make the hires.

But Walker, who was weighing a competing offer from Washington, was clearly the best man for the job.

Neuheisel saw nothing else.

“I like big names because they mean big accomplishments,” he said. “I try to bring them in here and see where they fit, like creating a mosaic.”

Which brings us back to Norton, whom Neuheisel admired while watching him work the sidelines at the Rose Bowl game two weeks ago.

Norton’s loud voice has become USC’s conscience, his endless energy has become its fuel, and his presence has become part of the dynasty.

For Neuheisel to think that he could pull Norton away from all that without a clear job title was almost laughable.

That he tried anyway was admirable.

“All they can say is no,” said Neuheisel. “And you know something? Ken now knows that the people of UCLA value and respect him.”

And now, Chow?

Because of the money involved, it’s a longshot.

But having spent last season baby sitting the immature Vince Young while the Titans organization pandered to the kid, Chow is probably ready for some old-fashioned college football again.

And knowing how he left here three seasons ago under questionable circumstances -- he did not want to go to the NFL, but Carroll insisted on taking more control of the offense -- Chow might like to reestablish his legacy in a town filled with his best fans.

“Seriously, I just don’t know right now,” Chow said.

The only thing certain is that Neuheisel will probably soon be stalking the guy, repeating things he said to me Tuesday night, things like, “It’s not about ego, it’s about locking arms.”

At which point Chow will either throw him off the porch or follow him to Westwood.

In either event, a loud noise will be made, people will notice, and UCLA football will once again be heard.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.