What we know about coach Nick Rolovich's firing, contract status and future of team at Washington State
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No other team in college football history has faced a situation quite like this.
After winning three straight games to improve to 4-3, the Washington State Cougars now must rebuild their coaching staff in the middle of the season after five coaches were fired Monday over their refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
That includes head coach Nick Rolovich, who was hired at WSU less than two years ago after a stint as Hawaii's head coach.
Hereâs a look at how this happened and where itâs headed with five regular-season games remaining, including a home game Saturday against Brigham Young on Saturday:
NO SYMPATHY:For Nick Rolovich after Washington State fired him. Skipping vaccine was his call.
Why they didnât get vaccinated
Rolovich, 42, never publicly has explained this after announcing in July that he had elected not to get vaccinated. He then applied for a religious exemption from a state mandate that required state employees to be fully vaccinated by Monday unless they obtained approval for an exemption. His exemption request was denied, and now heâs unemployed because heâs ineligible to work at WSU under the mandate.
WSU athletics director Pat Chun said Rolovich was âresoluteâ in his stance and wouldnât change his mind.
âThatâs a question only Nick can answer, but I know we offered and actually had multiple education sessions for all our staff, our coaches, relative to the vaccine, its efficacy and the vaccination process,â Chun said Monday.
Rolovich comes from a Catholic family background and attended a Catholic high school but recently declined to say if he identifies as Catholic. His former coach at the University of Hawaii, June Jones, told USA TODAY Sports earlier this month that Rolovich âbelieves that he doesnât need to take it and doesnât want to take it, and he doesnât want somebody to telling him what to do.â
He was the only head coach in major college football to publicly say he wouldnât get vaccinated.
How the players responded
Chun indicated Rolovich was not given an opportunity to say goodbye to his players Monday after he was informed that he was being terminated.
âWe met this afternoon, and he left as soon as we met,â Chun said.
Chun then addressed the players along with interim head coach Jake Dickert, the teamâs defensive coordinator.
Asked if any players indicated they didnât want to play Saturday because of this decision, Chun said, âNot that Iâm aware of.â He said the players reacted with sadness, anger and disappointment.
Quarterback Jayden de Laura addressed the matter with a statement he posted on Twitter.
âWords cannot express our profound sadness and disappointment in the termination of our Coach, Nick Rolovich,â de Laura said. The QB said âwe strongly disagree with todayâs decision. But we also understand that Cougar Football has always been bigger than any one person.â
He then called on fans to âpack the house on Saturday, and show this entire nation the special bond we all have as WSU Cougars.â
Rolovichâs contract status
If Rolovich were fired âwithout cause,â such as for losing too many games, he would be owed about $4.4 million at this point to buy out the remainder of his contract through June 2025. However, Chun said Rolovich and the other coaches are being fired âfor causeâ because they are no longer eligible to work there under the mandate. That means he doesnât get that buyout and instead enters a process that gives him the right to appeal the decision within 15 days.
âEmployeeâs right to receive any payment under this Agreement ⊠shall cease the day following the issuance of the decision to terminate for Just Cause,â his contract states.
Rolovich can try to fight it legally, perhaps leading to a settlement. Any appeal he makes would be heard by university president Kirk Schulz or his designee. Schulz appeared with Chun at a news conference Monday and supports the firing.
Who made the decision?
Schulz even indicated he made the decision to fire Rolovich in conjunction with Chun. According to WSU protocol, requests for religious exemptions are considered by a committee that is âblindedâ from the identities of the applicants. If the committee denied the request, the applicant could be terminated. But even if the committee granted the request, the applicant then faced another hurdle: The applicantâs supervisor then must determine if the unvaccinated employee could do his or her job without posing a risk to community health. Chun was Rolovichâs supervisor.
Asked who made the decision, Chun declined to say, citing privacy laws. But Schulz gave a different account earlier when he said the decision got a mixed reaction.
âIâve heard from a lot of people today that said, `Hey this was the right decision to make from the university,ââ Schulz said. âIâve also heard from several others that did not feel that the decision that I made, or Pat and I made, was the right one.â
He said he heard from one alum who said that âbecause of our decision, he was tonight going to make a donation ⊠in support of Washington State University.â
Schulz noted that more than 90% of WSU employees and 97% of students are vaccinated.
The coaching staff
Also fired Monday were defensive tackles coach Ricky Logo, assistant head coach John Richardson, co-offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann and offensive line coach Mark Weber. Stutzmann also is the quarterbacks coach and recently had called plays for the Cougarsâ run-and-shoot offense â a system that doesnât have many teachers available to move to Pullman on a temporary basis at midseason.
Chun acknowledged this and said heâs been preparing for it.
âNick did give us some input on some of those contingency plans,â Chun said. He added that he hoped to make some hiring announcements this week.
Chun noted how he believed Rolovich was a âperfect fit and long-term solutionâ for the Cougars when he hired him in January 2020. Then came the pandemic. His team finished 1-3 last year and started with the same record this year before winning three consecutively.
âIt is disheartening to be here today,â Chun said. âOur football team is hurting. Our WSU community is fractured. Today will have a lasting impact on the young men on our team and the remaining coaches and staff.â
Dickert succeeds Rolovich on an interim basis and has made his vaccination stance clear. In May, he posted a photo on Twitter that showed himself getting vaccinated.
âWe all have a choice, but I am Proud to do my part to #StopThe Spread and canât wait to see fans at Martin Stadium this fall,â he wrote then.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com