Cal Hires Ex-Washington State Head Coach Nick Rolovich as Offensive Assistant

Rolovich, a practitioner of a version of the run-and-shoot offense, was head coach at Hawaii and WSU

Nick Rolovich as Washington State's head coach in 2021 / James Snook-Imagn Images

Former Hawaii and Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich has been named senior offensive assistant for the Cal football program. Cal made the announcement of Rolovich's hiring on Friday..

Rolovich is known for his successful use of his version of the run-and-shoot offense. He is also known for being dismissed as Washington State's head coach during the 2021 season when he did not comply with the state's requirement to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

This continues Justin Wilcox's overhaul of Cal's offensive coaching staff. Former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin was named the Bears' new offensive coordintor ealier this week, and Utah State assistant Kyle Cefalo was named the Bears new wide receivers coach and passing-game coordinator earlier on Friday.

The addition of Rolovich adds another layer of expertise to Cal's offense, particularly Cal's passing game.

Rolovich is a Bay Area product who was born in Daly City, California, and grew up in Novato. He was a quarterback at City College of San Francisco, where he was a two-time junior college all-American and led CCSF to the 1999 national championship.

He then became a quarterback for two seasons at the University of Hawaii. He set schools records with his eight touchdowns and 543 yards in a 72–45 win over over BYU.

Rolovich spent four seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Nevada from 2012-15.

He was the head coach at Hawaii from 2016 to 2019, compiling a 28-27 record in his four seasons there. In 2018 the Hawaii offense recorded over 5,800 yards of offense and its quarterbacks threw 43 touchdown passes.

Rolovich was then hired as the head coach at Washington State, where he instituted his version of the run-and-shoot offense. The Cougars went 1-3 in his first season in Pullman in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Washington State was 4-3 in his second season in Pullman when he was dismissed.

On October 18, 2021, Rolovich was fired for failing to comply with Washington's requirement that all state employees be vaccinated for COVID-19. Four WSU assistant coaches were dismissed for the same reason.

Rolovich's request for a religious exeption from the vaccination requirement had been denied, and he subsequently sued the university. A trial date of December 9, 2024, was set for Rolovich's case, but a judge erased the trial date when both sides asked for a ruling without a trial. A hearing on the matter has yet to be held.

Rolovich subsequently served as a volunteer coach at San Marin High School in Novato, California.

Rolovich was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL in September 2023. However, four months later it was announced that the Sea Dragons would not be part of the XFL's merger with the UFL.

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