Defensive line coach Lewis Powell is leaving the University of Hawaii football team to become the tight ends coach at the University of Utah. 

Powell was the last remaining member of head coach Norm Chow’s initial UH staff in 2012. 

Powell is expected to earn about $190,000 — double his UH salary — to coach at his alma mater. He was a defensive lineman and then an intern for the Utes. Powell and Chow worked together in 2011 when Chow was the Utes’ offensive coordinator. 

The move was expected, and UH had set in motion a plan to fill Powell’s spot on the coaching staff. With UH’s hiring procedures, a replacement will be named before the start of spring training in April. A likely scenario is that a graduate assistant or intern will fill the role on an emergency basis.