Cal hires former WSU coach Rolovich as analyst

Former Washington State and Hawai’i coach Nick Rolovich was hired by California as a senior offensive assistant, the school announced Friday.

Rolovich last coached college football in 2021 but was fired seven games into the season when he refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19, violating a state mandate.

The hire comes on the heels of coach Justin Wilcox’s decision earlier this week to name former Auburn and Boise State coach Bryan Harsin as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Rolovich grew up near Berkeley and attended the City College of San Francisco before transferring to Hawai’i. He was named head coach at his alma mater in 2015, where he went 28-27 over four years and was the Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2019.

In two seasons at WSU, Rolovich was 5-6, with the 2020 season shortened to just four games because of cancellations related to the pandemic.

Rolovich filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against WSU in 2022 seeking $25 million, which has yet to be resolved.