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Nick Rolovich

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Nick Rolovich
refer to caption
Rolovich in 2016
Personal information
Born: (1979-02-16) February 16, 1979 (age 45)
Daly City, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Marin Catholic
(Kentfield, California)
College:Hawaii
Position:Quarterback
Undrafted:2002
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
  • San Marin (CA) HS (2002)
    Assistant coach
  • Hawaii (2003–2004)
    Student assistant
  • City College of San Francisco (2006–2007)
    Quarterbacks coach
  • Hawaii (2008–2009)
    Quarterbacks coach
  • Hawaii (2010–2011)
    Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
  • Nevada (2012–2015)
    Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
  • Hawaii (2016–2019)
    Head coach
  • Washington State (2020–2021)
    Head coach
Career highlights and awards
As player
As coach
Career Arena League statistics
TD–INT:25–5
Passing yards:1,401
Completion percentage:55.2
Passer rating:97.3
Stats at ArenaFan.com
Head coaching record
Career:NCAA: 33–33 (.500)

Nicholas Robert Rolovich (/ˈroʊləvɪtʃ/ ROH-lə-vitch; born February 16, 1979) is an American former football coach and player. He was most recently the head football coach at Washington State University (WSU).[1][2][3] Rolovich majored in economics at the University of Hawaii, and received a master's degree at New Mexico Highlands University. He was a quarterback with the Las Vegas Gladiators in the Arena Football League (AFL).

In October 2021, after being denied a religious exemption to Washington's requirement for state employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Rolovich was terminated by WSU.[4] Rolovich alleges that athletic director Patrick Chun asked him to receive the vaccine on the stadium 50-yard line in front of the entire football team. He has since sued the university for $25 million.[5]

High school years

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Rolovich grew up in Novato, California. He attended Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California, and won varsity letters in football and baseball. In football, he led his teams to two league championships.

College career

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City College of San Francisco

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Rolovich was a two-time junior college All-American (1998–99) at City College of San Francisco, where he led the Rams to a national championship in 1999.[6]

University of Hawaii

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Rolovich was a two-year letterman at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he replaced starter and eventual all-time NCAA career passing leader Timmy Chang early in the 2001 season, leading the team to an 8–1 record. During those nine games, Rolovich threw for 3,361 yards and 34 touchdowns on 233-of-405 passing, and ended his college career with three straight 500-yard passing games. He also set school single-game records of eight touchdowns and 543 yards in a 72–45 win over BYU on December 8.

Those numbers helped him place tenth in the nation in pass efficiency (105.5) while breaking 19 school passing records and eight total offense records. Rolovich participated in and was named one of the two MVPs from the 2002 Hula Bowl college all-star game.

Professional football career

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Rolovich signed with the Denver Broncos on May 18, 2002, after an impressive mini-camp. He rejoined the team in the following season before being allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe. In 2003, Rolovich completed 87-of-149 passes while leading the Fire to World Bowl XI. He connected on 14-of-19 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown in their 35–16 loss to the Frankfurt Galaxy in the championship game.

In 2004 and 2005, Rolovich signed with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League where he served as Mark Grieb's backup. He became the first San Jose QB other than Grieb to throw a pass in a game since the 2002 season. Rolovich signed with the Arizona Rattlers on October 31, 2006. Rolovich was released by both the Chicago Rush and Arizona Rattlers (after injuring his shoulder on January 16, 2006, in a non-contact scrimmage against Las Vegas, within a week he was waived) in 2006. On April 10, 2007, Rolovich was signed by the Las Vegas Gladiators.

Coaching career

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While still playing in the AFL, Rolovich served as quarterback coach for his JC alma mater, the City College of San Francisco Rams for two years. Rolovich coached future quarterbacks Zac Lee and Jeremiah Masoli, who later went on to careers at Nebraska and Oregon, respectively. In 2008, he retired from pro-football and joined the coaching staff of his other alma mater, the Hawaii Warriors, as a full-time quarterback coach. In 2010, he was promoted to become Hawaii's offensive coordinator.

In 2012, he was hired by Nevada to be their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after not being retained by new Warriors head coach Norm Chow. In 2013, Rolovich was set to be the offensive coordinator at Temple on Matt Rhule's inaugural staff before backing out on January 9, 2013, after Nevada doubled his salary to $240,000.[7]

Hawaii (2016–19)

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On November 27, 2015, Rolovich was hired as the new head football coach at the University of Hawaii replacing Chow and interim head coach Chris Naeole.[8] In Rolovich's first season, Hawaii finished the regular season 6–7, but had their first bowl invitation since 2010 to the Hawaii Bowl, where they beat Middle Tennessee 52–35.[9] In 2017, Hawaii suffered a setback with injuries to John Ursua among other players, finishing the season 3–9 while losing their last 5 games. In 2018, Rolovich opted to change from a balanced spread offense to the pass-oriented run and shoot offense that June Jones successfully ran while Rolovich was a player at Hawaii.[10] In their first year under the run and shoot, Rolovich and Hawaii finished 8–6 while losing to Louisiana Tech in the Hawaii Bowl 31–14. In 2019, Hawaii opened the season with wins against Pac-12 opponents Arizona and Oregon State before losing to No. 23 Washington. They clinched a berth in the Mountain West Championship Game with a 14–11 win over San Diego State on November 23, 2019. He was named Mountain West Coach of Year in 2019 after leading Hawaii to a 10-win season and division title.[11]

Washington State (2020–2021)

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On January 13, 2020, Rolovich was announced as the new head coach for Washington State University, replacing Mike Leach who had departed to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State.[12][13]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, student athletes of the Pac-12 Conference formed a unity group to negotiate with the conference to get more fair treatment for student athletes ranging from COVID-19 safety protocols to racial equality messages under the threat of opting out of the fall season with the hashtag #WeAreUnited.[14] On August 2, 2020, Washington State wide receiver Kassidy Woods alleged that Rolovich threatened his status on the team, while also being removed from the team chats and being told to clear out his locker.[15] Woods also released an audio conversation between him and Rolovich to the Dallas Morning News, where Rolovich was understanding of Woods opting out due to COVID-19 but was still critical of the unity group.[16] Rolovich said in a statement that the said conversation between him and Woods occurred before the release of the #WeAreUnited group's article, and Washington State spokesman Bill Stephens clarified that Woods did not lose his scholarship or has been cut from the team, while ESPN reported that no one has been cut, but is not allowed to participate in team activities if they choose to opt out due to safety reasons.[17][18]

WSU became aware of Rolovich's anti-vaccine skepticism in April 2021, when it arranged for him to meet with Dr. Guy Palmer, a professor of pathology and infectious diseases. According to Palmer, Rolovich asked questions that were typical of the "anti-vax crowd on social media," including bringing up SV40, which had contaminated polio vaccines in the late 1950s and was not used in the COVID-19 vaccines.[19] On July 21, Rolovich announced that he had chosen not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and therefore would not be allowed to attend Pac-12 media day.[20]

On October 18, 2021, Rolovich, along with defensive tackles coach Ricky Logo, cornerbacks coach John Richardson, quarterbacks coach Craig Stutzmann and offensive line coach Mark Weber, were fired for failing to comply with Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state employees.[4] In September 2021, Stutzmann's younger brother Billy Ray, who had worked for Rolovich at Hawaii, was terminated from a position as offensive assistant at the US Naval Academy[21] also for refusing to take a COVID vaccine.[22][23][24]

Rolovich compiled a record of 5–6 with the Cougars.

Seattle Sea Dragons

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On September 14, 2023, Seattle Sea Dragons head coach Jim Haslett announced that Rolovich would become the team's offensive coordinator for the 2024 season.[25] On January 1, 2024, it was announced the Sea Dragons would not be a part of the UFL Merger.[26]

Notable players coached

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As assistant coach

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As head coach

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Coaching style

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Offensive philosophy

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During his stint as offensive coordinator at Hawaii, Rolovich used the run and shoot offense that June Jones had run when Rolovich was the team's starting quarterback. As the offensive coordinator, he made adjustments to the offense so that it could be run out of the pistol formation, creating opportunities for the quarterback to be a second runner. This led to an increase in success in the running game. When he became the offensive coordinator at Nevada, he ran the pistol offense that longtime Nevada head coach Chris Ault had popularized. When he was named head coach at Hawaii, he was the de facto offensive coordinator with Brian Smith and Craig Stutzmann named running game coordinator and passing game coordinator for one season before naming Smith the offensive coordinator for the 2017 season. After running a balanced spread offense for the first two years, he switched back to the run and shoot. With the rise in popularity of the run-pass option (RPO), Rolovich once again made adjustments to the run and shoot offense so that the quarterback of the offense could run RPO plays.

Personality

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Rolovich is known for his zany personality; he brought a tarot card reader, a Britney Spears impersonator, and an Elvis Presley impersonator to Mountain West Conference Media Days during his head coaching days at Hawaii.[27][28] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rolovich went around Washington State University's Pullman campus on a bicycle FaceTimeing a recruit with a phone taped to his bike helmet to show the recruit what Pullman and the campus looked like.[29]

Personal life

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Rolovich is married to Analea Donovan, his college sweetheart from Maui. They have four children.[30]

Head coaching record

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (Mountain West Conference) (2016–2019)
2016 Hawaii 7–7 4–4 2nd (West) W Hawaii
2017 Hawaii 3–9 1–7 T–5th (West)
2018 Hawaii 8–6 5–3 T–2nd (West) L Hawaii
2019 Hawaii 10–5 5–3 T–1st (West) W Hawaii
Hawaii: 28–27 15–17
Washington State Cougars (Pac-12 Conference) (2020–2021)
2020 Washington State 1–3 1–3 T–5th (North)
2021 Washington State 4–3[a] 3–2
Washington State: 5–6 4–5
Total: 33–33
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
  1. ^ Rolovich was fired after seven games

References

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  1. ^ "Rolovich Picked As New UH Head Football Coach". hawaiiathletics.com. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. ^ Lewis, Ferd; Tsai, Stephan; Reardon, Dan (November 27, 2015). "Hawaii hires Rolovich as head football coach". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  3. ^ "UH names Nick Rolovich as new head football coach". Hawaii News Now (HNN). November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Hanson, Scott (October 18, 2021). "WSU football coach Nick Rolovich fired for refusing COVID vaccine; defensive coordinator is acting head coach". Seattle Times. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  5. ^ Harris, Maek (November 17, 2022). "Ex-Washington State Football Coach Alleges School Asked him to Get Vaccinated on the Field". Outkick. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "Football History of Champions". CCCAA. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  7. ^ Pompey, Keith (January 21, 2013). "Owls name Satterfield offensive coordinator, Smith wideouts coach". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  8. ^ Evans, Thayer (November 27, 2015). "Nevada Offensive Coordinator Nick Rolovich hired as Hawaii head coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Hawaii takes down Middle Tennessee for first bowl victory since 2006". USA Today. December 25, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  10. ^ Jennings, Chantel (December 21, 2018). "Nick Rolovich wanted to change Hawaii's offense, and along the way he changed its identity". The Athletic. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  11. ^ Tsai, Stephen (December 5, 2019). "Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich named MWC coach of year". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  12. ^ Booth, Tim (October 16, 2016). "Washington State set to hire Rolovich as new head coach". The Olympian. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ Lawson, Theo (January 14, 2020). "Washington State picks Hawaii's Nick Rolovich as next head football coach". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  14. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (August 2, 2020). "Group of Pac-12 athletes unite, threaten opt out unless athletes' demands of conference are met". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Peter, Josh (August 2, 2020). "Washington State player says head coach threatened his status over Pac-12 unity group". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  16. ^ Blum, Sam (August 2, 2020). "Full transcript: Washington State coach Nick Rolovich critical of PAC-12 unity statement in conversation with WR Kassidy Woods". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  17. ^ Evans, Jace (August 3, 2020). "Washington State coach Nick Rolovich attempts to clarify position on #WeAreUnited group". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  18. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (August 3, 2020). "Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich tells WR Kassidy Woods joining unity group would create 'an issue'". ESPN. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  19. ^ Bonagura, Kyle (October 27, 2021). "Inside Nick Rolovich's downfall at Washington State over the COVID-19 vaccine". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  20. ^ Nusser, Jeff (July 22, 2021). "Nick Rolovich's anti-vax stance is an embarrassment to WSU". CougCenter.
  21. ^ Tsai, Stephen (January 15, 2019). "Former Hawaii receiver Billy Ray Stutzmann joining Navy coaching staff". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  22. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (September 14, 2021). "Navy football fires assistant coach Billy Ray Stutzmann for not receiving COVID-19 vaccine". USA Today. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  23. ^ Sallee, Barrett (September 13, 2021). "Navy assistant coach Billy Ray Stutzmann fired after failing to receive exemption for COVID-19 vaccine". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  24. ^ Lawson, Theo (September 13, 2021). "'I'm not going to talk about that.' Washington State's Nick Rolovich remains mum on vaccine status with 36 days until deadline". NBC Right Now. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  25. ^ Lyons, Matt (September 14, 2023). "Nick Rolovich Named Seattle Sea Dragons New OC". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  26. ^ Alexander, Mookie (December 31, 2023). "Report: RIP, Seattle Sea Dragons?!". Field Gulls. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  27. ^ Vannini, Chris (July 23, 2019). "'I wish we win the Mountain West': Why Hawaii's Nick Rolovich brought a tarot card reader to media day". The Athletic. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  28. ^ Greene, Brenna (January 14, 2020). "Get to know WSU football's new head football coach Nick Rolovich". KREM. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  29. ^ Dodd, Dennis (May 29, 2020). "Nick Rolovich is keeping it exciting, entertaining and unconventional at Washington State". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  30. ^ Lawson, Theo (January 13, 2020). "33 for 33: Get to know new Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
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