Rolo says Stutz for Hill “worked out better for us”
When new Hawaii football coach Nick Rolovich announced his staff it was a surprise to many that Craig Stutzmann was not a part of it.
When offensive coordinator Zak Hill left for Boise State a week before recruiting letter of intent day after just a couple of months on the job, Rolovich knew exactly who he wanted.
Rolovich raves about the job Stutzmann — his favorite target for passes when he quarterbacked UH in 2001 — has done as passing game coordinator as the Rainbow Warriors prep for the start of spring practice Tuesday.
“I think this has worked out better for us,” Rolovich said in an interview Sunday. “If I made a mistake, it was not hiring Stutz in the first place.”
Stutzmann was raised in Hawaii and played at Saint Louis School prior to UH. But since graduation in 2001, most of his time has been spent coaching college football on the continent, most recently at Emory & Henry in Virginia (where Timmy Chang recently replaced him as offensive coordinator, and his brother, Billy Ray Stutzmann, coaches receivers).
Rolovich said he previously feared the staff might be perceived as too heavy with former UH players and needed some diversity.
“I probably fell into the trap of ‘Don’t hire the Hawaii guy.’ I’m over that,” Rolovich said. “(former UH players) Abe (Elimimian), Brian (Smith), (and interns) Marc Moody, John Estes, they’re all great fits and so is Stutz.”
Rolovich and Stutzmann were also teammates with Smith, who started at center and is now the running game coordinator.
“It’s not as much where you’re from as much as it is who that person is. If they’re willing to embrace the culture,” Rolovich said.
Other notes from Sunday’s interview that didn’t make it into today’s column:
>> Rolovich said he doesn’t mind when fans approach him in public … especially this type of encounter:
“A guy walked up to me at dinner (Saturday) and introduced himself. He told me he was on the verge of canceling his season tickets but when I got hired he renewed them.”
“I wonder how many people out there have had season tickets since the (Aloha) stadium opened? I think we should recognize these people. Forty years is a long time.”
Rolovich said he has asked ticket office and IT personnel to research this.
>> When asked for the name of a defensive player likely to become a star, Rolovich came up with one quickly.
“I think (sophomore linebacker) Jahlani Tavai is going to be a great football player here. Just the way he’s wired. He’s the right kind of person who is also blessed with ability.”
>> Although he obviously wants to change the mindset of top local prospects when it comes to staying home, Rolovich is not delusional about changing this over night.
“I’m gonna try (to recruit them), but I’m not gonna fight ‘em if they want to go away. You have to want to be here.”
Wish we didn’t have such a tough schedule again.
This is not to start an argument, just a different perspective, but I like the schedule. The success of the basketball teams have shown that you have to play the best to gain respect and recognition. And Hawaii has shown that it can play with the power 5 schools and beat them. Previous head coaches, Dick Tomey, Bob Wagner and June Jones whose records have shown Hawaii can have a strong program. It has been the last four years that have made the fans lose sight of this. Now its time to see if coach Rolovich will join these other great coaches.
Dave, thanks for the update on Timmy Chang. I wondered what happened to him after the coaching change at Jackson State.
No need accolades but we’ve been going to the games at Aloha since it opened. Didn’t pickup season tickets because I worked alternating shifts and couldn’t attend all the games. In the early 80’s, finally got season tickets (8) and have, ever since (hence the moniker) This is a new era in UH football. I got a feeling that it will be exciting like the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s Come on people, let’s support the team and fill those seats…..GoBows!
What a refreshing change Rolo is from the prior regime. Rolo appreciates UH Football, its tradition/alumni/fans, and is driven to make things better.
To H-Man’s point: I do hope and believe that Rolo will join the ranks of the great UH coaches. But in fairness, the college football landscape has changed since the Tomey/Wags/Jones era to give so much more advantage – financial and otherwise – to the Power 5 “haves” over the “have nots”.
Good story. Good information. We need to see more like this.
The big difference between Basketball and Football, however, is that in football, it’s a lot more likely that players will sustain longer-term, performance limiting, injuries when they play teams that have much deeper, and more athletic reserves. Three Power 5 teams in the first 4 games is brutal for any mid-major, even worse if all three are on the road.
Emory & Henry is a small div. 3 school here in southwest Virginia( near the Tennesse border). Good to see some Hawaii guys getting coaching experience. Now I can check out their games besides the ACC teams around here.
All the guys who have had season tickets since it opened sit by me
Much easier to get 3-4 studs to make a good basketball team than 22 studs for football. Any weakness it’s exploited not to mention decent backups
I’m very happy with Rolo’s attitude and perspective and the realization that hiring Stutz was the true right choice.
I’m getting excited about football again. I believe Rolo will do extremely well with the coaching staff that he has put together. He gets it….protect the rock.
Playing three of the better teams in Basketball early in the season and on the road is considerably different from doing it in football. In football playing a physically superior team with a deeper and more talented pool of reserves will wear you down physically and can result in many of your starting players sustaining nagging or season ending injuries. Injuries that are less likely to happen in basketball. Sometimes I wish the Coach would strategically put in all the reserves for the games that we are highly unlikely to win in the pre-season, just to keep the starters healthy for the conference. But that wouldn’t be fair to the guys that worked their butts off to play the game.
The preceding two head football coaches, Mack and Chow, were notorious for elevating and anointing players and coaches, where in most cases it turned out to be phantom coach talk…and now this.
I hope Rolo’s thirst for building up Stutz and downplaying Hill (who went to Boise) doesn’t turn into another mirage. But do you think a CEO of a big company would publically blow bubbles? No. And to add fuel to the fire the coach said “I should of hired Stutz in the first place and given more preferences to hiring Hawaii connections.” If Rolo’s purpose is to look childish, open the door to the Boise media that the Hawaii coach is devaluing the Hill (and Hill has 10x the resume Stutz has) hiring over a Emory hire and follow in the footsteps of his predecessors by putting his foot in his mouth then he is surely on pace.