Timothy Kealii'okaaina Awa Chang (born October 9, 1981) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who is currently the head coach of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. During his playing career at Hawaii, he set several major college football passing records, including the NCAA record for most all-time passing yards; this record was later eclipsed by Case Keenum in 2011, and Dillon Gabriel in 2024, although Chang still remains in third place. Chang has also played for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

and

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

Early years

Born in Waipahu, Hawaii, Chang attended St. Louis School in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and was an honors student and a three-year letterman in football and basketball. Chang was selected a prep All-American by eight major organizations and publications. As a member of the St. Louis School football team, Chang completed 464 passes for 8,001 yards and 113 touchdowns in his three-year career. Chang graduated from Saint Louis High School in 2000.

College career

Following high school, Chang played five seasons (2000–2004) for the University of Hawai'i Warriors where he started 50 of 53 career games at

. Chang completed 1,388 of 2,436 passes (57.0 percent) for 17,072 yards and 117 touchdowns, breaking the old

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I-A all-time records of 1,231 completions in 1,883 attempts by Kliff Kingsbury of

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

(1999–2002) and 15,031 yards by Ty Detmer of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(1989–91). Chang participated in 2,587 plays, breaking the old NCAA career record of 2,156 by Kingsbury. Chang's 16,910 yards in total offense broke the previous NCAA record of 14,465 by Detmer. Chang also had six rushing touchdowns and was a four-time All-

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

selection. Chang currently holds NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision all-time records for total plays (2,587), passes attempted (2,436), and

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s (80). He ranks second in total offensive yards (16,910), third in career passing yards (17,072) and is thirteenth in touchdown passes (117). Chang holds the school record for career passing yards and total offense, and is second in career passing touchdowns and total touchdowns. Chang was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 Hawaii Bowl in a triple-

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

victory over the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, and was named Co-MVP, with Chad Owens, of the 2004 Hawaii Bowl in a victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Chang was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for the 2004 season. He made a cameo in NCAA Football 06.

College statistics

Professional career

Chang was signed by the

after going undrafted in the 2005 NFL draft, but was cut in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. That year, Chang also played in the preseason for the

but did not make the final roster. He then signed with the

, who allocated him to the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. He played for the

of NFL Europa for the 2006 season, in which he completed 50 of 89 passes for 656 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, while sharing playing time with Drew Henson. He was in training camp with the

in 2006, but was cut before the start of the regular season. The

of the CFL acquired the negotiating rights to Chang in a February 12,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

trade with the Edmonton Eskimos. Chang signed with Hamilton on March 13, 2007. During the 2007 season, he started two of 18 games played, completing 42 of 89 pass attempts for 467 yards, one touchdown, and seven interceptions. Chang played in his first regular season game on June 30, 2007, against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

when he replaced the struggling

Jason Maas Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was m ...

towards the end of the fourth quarter, completing his first career CFL pass, a 51-yard pass to Jesse Lumsden, overall finishing 4 of 7 for 86 yards. He threw his first career CFL touchdown on July 14 during the Ticats 29–20 loss to Montreal, a 71-yard pass to Brock Ralph. Chang was released by the Tiger-Cats on August 29, 2008, and signed by the

the following day. He retired in 2009 and returned to the University of Hawaii to complete his bachelor's degree.

Coaching career

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

head football coach June Jones, who coached Chang at Hawai'i, announced in May 2012 that Chang would join his staff as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

. Chang was chosen as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

and quarterbacks coach for Jackson State in February 2014, assisting newly named head coach Harold Jackson. In his first season as offensive coordinator, Jackson State averaged 25.8 points per game. QB La Montiez Ivy threw for 3,209 yards and 22 touchdowns. WR Daniel Williams finished the season with 73 catches for 1,004 yards and 9 touchdowns. Both were named to the All-SWAC team. It was announced in December 2016 that Chang would join

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

as an inside wide receivers coach. He moved to the tight ends coaching position in 2018 before moving back to coach wide receivers in 2021. When Nevada's head coach Jay Norvell was hired by Colorado State following the 2021 season, Chang followed him to Fort Collins and was named the wide receivers coach for the Rams.

Hawaii

Chang was named the 25th head coach in program history at his alma mater,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, on January 22, 2022. He signed a four-year deal. Chang received a one-year extension to his contract on December 3, keeping him with the program through at least the 2026 season, which will be Hawaii’s first as a full member of the Mountain West Conference.

Personal life

Chang and his wife have five children; he also has a son from a previous relationship. Chang pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in February 2010 was fined $155, agreed to undergo anger management assessment and was placed on six months’ probation. Police stated he had seen a woman filming a fight in Honolulu's Pearlridge neighborhood, demanded that she stop filming, and upon her refusal and a subsequent struggle, had taken her camera and thrown it to the roof of a nearby building.

Head coaching record

Notes and references

External links

*
Hawaii profile

NCAA stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Timmy 1981 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football quarterbacks Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Emory and Henry Wasps football coaches Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Jackson State Tigers football coaches Native Hawaiian sportspeople Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Philadelphia Eagles players Rhein Fire players Saint Louis School alumni SMU Mustangs football coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Coaches of American football from Hawaii Players of American football from Honolulu Players of Canadian football from Honolulu American sportspeople of Chinese descent Asian American players of American football Pacific Islander American players of American football