After a three-year absence, Nick Rolovich has returned to coaching college football.
Rolovich, previously head coach at Hawaii and Washington State, joins Justin Wilcox’s staff at Cal as a senior offensive assistant. As an offensive coordinator and head coach, Rolovich favored run-and-gun play and spreading offense, often outside the pistol formation.
The football program officially announced Rolovich’s hiring on Friday.
Rolovich and four of his assistant coaches were fired by Washington state in 2021 for refusing to comply with Washington’s mandate for state employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine. He said the vaccine mandate violated his religious beliefs.
He sued the university, then-athletic director Patrick Chun and Governor Jay Inslee for wrongful dismissal and sought $25 million in damages.
In August, a federal judge in Spokane ruled that Rolovich could not sue Chun or Inslee, but left the lawsuit against WSU in place. The case was expected to go to trial in December. However, the judge removed the trial date from the calendar when both sides requested a ruling without a trial, Spokane’s KXLY-TV reported. A hearing has yet to take place.
In total, Rolovich coached 11 games at WSU between 2020 and 2021, finishing with a 5-6 record. In four seasons in Hawaii, he compiled a 28-27 record with three Hawaii Bowl appearances. He coached Hawaii to the 2019 Mountain West Conference championship game.
Jake Dickert took over for Rolovich as interim head coach and was hired permanently for the position after the 2021 season.
Since being fired by WSU, Rolovich coached as a volunteer at San Marin High School in Novato, California and was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL before the team closed due to a merger with the USFL. He reportedly spoke to Rice about the head coaching opening, but never interviewed for the job. according to On3.
Rolovich, a native of the Bay Area, is the second former FBS head coach to join Wilcox’s staff at Cal. Earlier this week, former Auburn and Boise State coach Bryan Harsin was hired as the Bears’ offensive coordinator. Harsin has sat out of college football for the past two seasons.
