Nick Rolovich to join Cal football staff, his first coaching job since being fired for refusing COVID vaccine

After a three-year absence, Nick Rolovich has returned to college football coaching.

Rolovich, formerly the head coach at Hawaii and Washington State, is joining Justin Wilcox's staff at Cal as a senior offensive assistant. As an offensive coordinator and head coach, Rolovich favored run and shoot and spread offenses, often run out of 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 termination.

In August, a federal judge in Spokane ruled that Rolovich could not sue Chun or Inslee, but allowed the lawsuit against WSU to stand, The case was scheduled to go to trial in December. However, the judge struck the trial date from the calendar when both sides asked for a ruling without a trial, Spokane's KXLY-TV reported. A hearing is still to be held.

Altogether, Rolovich coached 11 games at WSU, finishing with a 5–6 record. In four seasons at Hawaii, he compiled a 28–27 record with three Hawaii Bowl appearances. He coached Hawaii to the Mountain West Conference championship game in 2019.

Jake Dickert took over for Rolovich as interim head coach and was hired for the position permanently following the 2021 season.

Since being dismissed 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 was shuttered in a merger with the USFL. He reportedly talked with Rice about its head coach opening but never interviewed for the job, according to On3.

Rolovich, a Bay Area native, 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 spent the past two seasons out of college football.