Rolovich chooses Ghobrial to fill Chaudhari’s role

Less than a week before the opening of spring practice, University of Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich has completed his 10-member coaching staff, hiring Michael Ghobrial as special teams coordinator.

Ghobrial succeeds Mayur Chaudhari, who resigned in February to accept a job with the Atlanta Falcons.

“I felt he was the right fit for us right away,” Rolovich told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “The recommendations came strong from a lot of respected people. When I spoke to him, I had a good feeling.”

One of the recommendations came from Jeff Ulbrich, a former UH linebacker who played 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Ulbrich, who is the Falcons’ linebackers coach, and Ghobrial coached together at UCLA.

“Jeff Ulbrich is one of my mentors,” Ghobrial said in a telephone interview. “He’s still a good friend of mine. We talk almost every week. He’s always saying (Hawaii has) been a special place.”

Ghobrial played defensive end at UCLA, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was an undergraduate and graduate assistant for the Bruins. After that, he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse and Colorado Mesa. The past two seasons, Ghobrial coached the defensive linemen, outside linebackers and special teams at Tarleton State, a Division II school from Stephenville, Texas, that is part of the Texas A&M system. In his first season at Tarleton, the Texans led the nation in forced fumbles and were ninth in takeaways.

“One of the things I hope to get across to the players is being in position to win,” Ghobrial said. “I think that’s something that’s important in coaching, in general. That will be an emphasis in spring ball, laying that foundation down.”

The Rainbow Warriors open spring training on Wednesday morning.

“I’m excited to be out here,” Ghobrial said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to be part of a tradition-based university.”