As soon as the University of Hawai‘i kicks off its 2026 season at Stanford on Saturday at 1 p.m. HST, Timmy Chang will have officially broken a generational curse.
The upcoming season will be Chang's fifth at the helm, marking the first time in almost two decades that a UH football coach has been at the helm in Mānoa that long.
June Jones, the same man Chang played for, coached UH from 1999 to 2007 before bolting for SMU in 2008. He was followed by Greg McMackin, who was forced to resign after the 2011 season, his fourth as head coach. Norm Chow was fired during the 2015 season, also his fourth, and replaced by Nick Rolovich, who coached the Rainbow Warriors from 2016 to 2019 before departing for Washington State. Chang's predecessor, Todd Graham, lasted from 2020 to 2021 before becoming the subject of a state senate hearing then resigning.
"I didn't know that," Chang said when told of his upcoming Year 5 milestone. "My mentor (Jones) is special. He's a special coach, and I'm glad I played under him and learned under him and continued to run his offense. I'm very proud to now be back home and leading the program and having assistants that also have played under coach Jones and so really we owe a lot to him and it's an honor."
After taking over in 2022, Chang recently signed an extension that will take his contract through January 2031. Dream job aside, the team's focus for the last week and a half has been on Stanford, a program starting over with new head coach and former Cardinal quarterback Tavita Pritchard. After breaking camp last weekend, the Rainbow Warriors have taken multiple practices to nearby ‘Iolani School in preparation for Stanford's grass surface.
"I think you prepare for everything, and then you adjust as it goes," Chang said of Saturday's matchup. "But really, football is football. We gotta tackle, we got to throw the ball and catch balls.
"I just think the guys, they put themselves in position to succeed. They work really hard and I'm proud of how they work, but now it's time to go and execute and go have fun."
In addition to Pritchard, Stanford has new coordinators in offensive coordinator Terry Heffernan and defensive coordinator Kris Richard as it revamps its entire program under general manager Andrew Luck. Adding to Saturday's mystique is the fact that neither team has released a depth chart as of Tuesday.
"The most important thing is for us to understand who our opponent is, and I believe by kickoff on the 29th, we'll have a pretty good understanding of them, who they are, and what they're like," Hawai‘i defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said. "They're a new team, a new guy calling plays, but Stanford is going to be Stanford. They're gonna be a well-coached, well-disciplined football team, and they're gonna do what they do. They're not gonna make mistakes, so we can't we can't go in there and make mistakes."
The Rainbow Warriors and Cardinal opened the 2025 season against each other, with Hawai‘i prevailing 23-20 despite a disastrous start in which its first offensive play was a sack and fumble for a Stanford touchdown.
Quarterback Micah Alejado, who suffered a early leg injury and gutted out the second half of the 2025 opener, knows the team can't afford to start slow again.
"Just staying sound and just playing our game," Alejado said when asked what the key to victory is. "Last year, we come out really bad. I gave up a sack for a touchdown. We gave them 10 points. Our biggest point of emphasis is starting fast, not waiting for the first half to come on."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
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