The Monday after every loss, the University of Hawaii football team discards the memory.
“We flush it,” UH coach Nick Rolovich said, “and we move forward.”
But this week, Rolovich’s past and future will intertwine when the Rainbow Warriors play host to Nevada on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. Rolovich was the Wolf Pack’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for four years through 2015, when he was hired as UH head coach.
“I appreciate Nevada,” Rolovich said. “I appreciated my time at Nevada. I enjoyed living there. I enjoyed the community. I enjoyed the administration, and everyone involved with the football program. We had a lot of fun.”
His affinity for the “Biggest Little City in the World” led to Rolovich turning down an offer to coach at Temple in 2013. This summer, Rolovich and his family visited Reno to enable his elder children to reunite with their friends.
Asked how much he had grown in his four years with the Wolf Pack, Rolovich joked, “I grew fatter.”
But it was at Nevada, under Chris Ault — creator of the run-oriented pistol offense — that Rolovich expanded his football portfolio. At UH as a quarterback and then offensive coordinator, Rolovich ran the run-and-shoot offense. He encountered other offenses during a professional career in Europe and in the Arena Football League.
At Nevada, Rolovich said, “you had 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends). Last time you saw that was in NFL Europe or something. It was nice to be around Coach Ault for that year and how he did things. And what I really liked about him was the pride he had in his alma mater. I really appreciated that.”
Ault’s association with Nevada reminded Rolovich of his own connection with UH.
“I think everyone who spends some time here feels some pretty strong love for it,” Rolovich said of his alma mater and the state. “Once you give into it, and give yourself to Hawaii, it changes you. It’s almost a responsibility to give back.”
It was the eve of the 2015 regular-season finale when Rolovich told the Nevada players he recruited and coached that he had accepted the head coaching job at UH.
“It was hard,” Rolovich said. “We still had to play a game. A lot of guys understood. But it’s never easy to leave a bunch of guys you worked together with.”
Rolovich did not coach in the 2015 Arizona Bowl.
Three seasons later, Rolovich still follows his former players.
“It’s good to see them have success (in their careers),” Rolovich said, “seeing Gabe Sewell run around making tackles.”
Rolovich was the point recruiter for Sewell, a linebacker who leads the Pack in tackles.
“I spent a bunch of nights in his living room with his family,” Rolovich said. “I remember playing basketball against the youngest brother at night in the driveway before I took off. … It shows what a great upbringing the parents have done with that family. It’s not an easy job parenting, but they’ve done a great job raising those four boys and the girl. Their faith is strong with them. They live the right way.”
Rolovich added that Nevada linebacker Malik Reed is “a guy once you meet him or know him, you’re a better person for being around him.”
Rolovich said the Wolf Pack will present a challenge this week.
“They like to play with each other,” Rolovich said. “They don’t quit. That a credit to Coach (Jay)Norvell.”
