Turnover in coaching staff continues to plague UH

Heading into National Letter of Intent day Wednesday, University of Hawaii football coach Nick Rolovich had a standard question for visiting prospects.

“I told kids when they came on their recruiting visits, ‘OK, here you are in Hawaii, you are either scared or excited. Which one is it?’ ”

It is a good question, one designed to divine who might be best suited for the move and the challenges that accompany it come the first day high school players can sign binding commitments.

It is something that might well be asked of assistant coaching candidates as well, Rolovich acknowledges.

Barely two months into his tenure, Rolovich was introduced to one of the major issues confronting Rainbow Warrior football in recent years: turnover.

Not the fumble and interception kind — the transitory human version.

Thanks to the abrupt departure of Zak Hill after 48 days for Boise State, UH is working on its seventh offensive coordinator in six years. In the four years preceding Rolovich’s hire, UH had 21 different assistant coaches for nine positions. Seventeen of them stayed two years or less, which might be a record spinning of the revolving door even for UH.

Some left for other jobs and others were shown the exit.

Finding the right mix of coaches who can both do the job and genuinely want to do it here will be a key component in turning around the fortunes of a program that has suffered five consecutive losing seasons. Especially on a shoestring budget.

“Continuity is definitely something that is important — I mean look at these poor kids,” Rolovich said. “Think about Ikaika (Woolsey), how many (coaches) has he had? You just feel bad for him. Like every few months he’s had to learn something new. A little continuity would be nice for his final year.”

Rolovich recruited Woolsey but was left without a job by the time Woolsey arrived in Manoa. “I think we passed each other in the air,” Rolovich said.

The hiring of Craig Stutzmann, who is scheduled to arrive today to replace Hill and be passing game coordinator, is calculated to help provide some of the much-sought stability.

Stutzmann, a record-setting slotback in his days at UH (1998-2001), is a solid addition to the offensive staff and has paid his dues in some far-flung outposts on the college football map (Ogden, Utah; Emory, Va.; and Memphis).

He arrives with a passion for the place and the mission, so much so that his bona fides and abilities are touted even by others who sought assistant positions from Rolovich.

Good thing, too, because it isn’t as easy as just hiring by area code. We know this because UH has had its share of disappointments from hiring too blindly over the years, be it based on buddies or birthplaces.

Rolovich jokes that, given the opportunity to write the specifications, he might like to make having a locally raised spouse “part of the (job) requirements. They make you stay here,” said Rolovich, whose wife is from Maui.

One more anchor, it seems, for Stutzmann.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.