In 2005, Chad Kauha‘aha‘a had a secure career as a tenured teacher at his alma mater of Baldwin High School and head coach of the Bears’ football team.

But he knew deep down his true calling was coaching college football and the tumultuous, nomadic lifestyle it could bring. He gave himself a timeline: get an NCAA Division I job within three or four years, or come back to Baldwin so he wouldn’t lose his tenure.

He landed his first Division I job as a defensive line coach at Weber State University in 2005, and now, two decades and nine other college football jobs later, Kauha‘aha‘a has found a home at Brigham Young University. Earlier this month, he was promoted to outside linebackers coach after being a senior analyst for the Cougars for the last two seasons. 

The 52-year-old said he may have found his final stop after previous coaching gigs at Weber State, Utah State, Utah, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Boise State, Southern California, University of Nevada Las Vegas and UCLA. He’s the most accomplished college football coach ever from the Valley Isle — no other Maui coach has spent as much time at the Division I level of college football. 

Before taking the dive into college football, Kauha‘aha‘a taught special education, earth science and modern Hawaiian history at Baldwin, where he graduated in 1991. He was also the head football coach from 2002 to 2004.

After he left his last job at UCLA following the 2022 season, he and wife Lena were enjoying some time off from the grind of college football coaching. While on Kaua‘i, they were planning to come home to Maui for an extended time on Aug. 7, 2023, one day before the Lahaina wildfire that killed at least 102 people and destroyed much of the town. 

That night, he got a call from his son who lives in Kahakuloa: “Dad, don’t come home.”

“And so we got back on the plane from Kaua‘i and and I went back to Utah and that was the start of my journey to BYU,” Kauha‘aha‘a said.

When he arrived back in Utah, Kauha‘aha‘a was contacted by BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, who told him he had a position in mind for Kauha‘aha‘a. Things developed from there when he was taken on as a senior consultant.

“It’s been a blessing to be at BYU for these last three years,” Kauha‘aha‘a said. “I have truly believed this throughout my career: everything happens for a reason. My wife, who’s been my No. 1 supporter from day 1 when we left Maui … she always kind of kept me on track when things were hard because this is a hard profession.”

On a recent trip to Maui, Kauha‘aha‘a caught up with current Baldwin head coach Cody Nakamura. Nakamura graduated from Baldwin in 2005 after playing three years for the Bears with Kauha‘aha‘a as the head coach. The two both moved on to Weber State, where Kauha‘aha‘a coached the defensive line and Nakamura was a standout tight end under Ron McBride, who earlier coached Kauha‘aha‘a as an all-star linebacker at the University of Utah.

“I would say that my football career, although not the greatest, but I’m pretty proud of it … it all really circles back to coach Chad,” Nakamura said. “I played my sophomore year for him, came up to varsity and I played for coach Chad then, that was his first year, so we really got going together.”

Nakamura added, “I just got to see the total transformation” of the Maui Interscholastic League because Kauha‘aha‘a brought in coaches like Pohai Lee, now the head coach at Maui High and Dave Carino, a current member of the Baldwin staff. He also introduced the spread offense.

“As a receiver, I probably wouldn’t have played at the next level if that didn’t happen,” Nakamura said.

Nakamura says that Kauha‘aha‘a was made to be a college football coach, looking back to his time at Weber State when the defensive line coach would look out for the young tight end.

“Just the amount of care and attention to detail that you saw with coach Chad was unbelievable,” Nakamura said. “I mean, every step, if it was one inch off, you would know that your step was one inch off. Or being on time, all the responsibilities that you have to have as a student and as a football player, he emphasized. It was awesome.”

Nakamura added, “you could just tell that he really cared for the game and that made us play hard for him. So, like I said, that shaped my whole career.”

Kauha‘aha‘a sees perhaps 10 more years before he retires to his family land in Kahakuloa, where his grandparents lived and now the younger of his two sons, Kalena, lives. Chad and Lena Kauha‘aha‘a, a Lahainaluna graduate, have two granddaughters, 7-year-old Kaimana and 5-year-old Elleia, who both live in Phoenix, Ariz., with their older son Kalei and his wife.

“I think of Maui every day,” Chad Kauha‘aha‘a said. “Maui is my home. … Hopefully by the time I’m 62 and still alive, my plan is to come home to Maui, retire in Kahakuloa and and be the best grandpa I can be.”

The ride has been remarkable for Kauha‘aha‘a thus far.

He has crossed paths with Va‘ai “Uso” Seumalo, a nose guard from Moloka‘i who recently finished his career at Kansas State, and Kapena Gushiken, a Kamehameha Maui graduate who just finished his career as a safety at Ole Miss in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs. 

Both Gushiken and Seumalo hope to follow in the footsteps of Mitchell Loewen from Lahainaluna and the University of Arkansas, and Kaluka Maiava from Baldwin and the University of Southern California as players from the Maui Interscholastic League to play in the National Football League. Jojo Dickson (Idaho) and Kai Maiava (UCLA) also played football at Baldwin and then in college.

Kauha‘aha‘a was recently on Maui with Jimmy Morimoto, the man who followed him as head coach of the Bears and who is now an associate athletic director and general manager for football at the University of Montana. 

“The football obviously is good on Maui,” Kauha‘aha‘a said. “I remember when I was there and Jimmy was there, we had a little streak of sending some guys out, which is pretty good, from Kaluka to Kai (Maiava) to Jojo and, yes, a couple other guys.”

The Bears have climbed back to the top of the MIL Division I ranks this season, making the state tournament for the first time since 2019 with their MIL Division I championship in 2025.

“I’m happy that the Bears are all back on track,” Kauha‘aha‘a said. “That puts it in perspective, that puts a smile on my face.”

“Monday Morning Maui Sports” columns appear weekly on Monday mornings with updates on local sports in the Maui Interscholastic League and elsewhere around Maui County. Please send column ideas — anything having to do with sports in Maui County — as well as results and photos to rob@hjinow.org.