Todd Graham picked to lead University of Hawaii football team

In a move that was surprising in its quickness and choice, Todd Graham was selected as the Hawaii football team’s head coach.

Graham’s hiring did not match the recent pattern of signing relatively youthful coaches with ties to the UH athletic program. But Graham, 55, brings an impressive background, having served as head coach of four Division I teams. He also impressed UH staff members with his gregarious personality and passion for football and academics.

Graham, who will be introduced in a news conference this afternoon in the athletic department’s lecture hall, succeeds Nick Rolovich, who resigned last week to become Washington State’s head coach.

Under UH’s guidelines, athletic director David Matlin had to wait from the job posting until the conclusion of a fifth business day before naming a new coach. Rolovich notified Matlin of his intent to resign on Jan. 13. But because the notification came after the end of business hours, the five-day clock started the following day. Monday was a state holiday, delaying the waiting period until Tuesday. After the fifth business day wrapped up, Matlin forwarded his choice to UH president David Lassner for final approval.

The UH players and remaining coaches — defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, assistant head coach/linebackers coach Mark Banker, cornerbacks coach Abraham Elimimian, hybrid-end coach Jacob Yoro and receivers coach Andre Allen — were alerted to Graham’s hiring. UH then sent out a release to the media.

Graham has made assurances he will give consideration to the holdover coaches about jobs on his staff. He is set to meet with them today.

But Banker, who had applied for the head coaching job, now will be joining Rolovich’s WSU staff as safeties coach. Banker will be the eighth member of UH’s 2019 staff to relocate to Pullman, Wash. Brian Smith, who served as associate head coach and offensive coordinator the past four UH seasons; Craig Stutzmann, quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator; Mark Weber, offensive line coach; Ricky Logo, defensive line coach; Michael Ghobrial, special teams coordinator; chief of staff Jason Cvercko; and Dwain Bradshaw, director of football athletic performance, already have offices on the WSU campus.

It was believed Smith and Stutzmann were the front-runners if Matlin decided to stay in-house with the selection. Instead, Matlin went with a candidate who matched the check list of character, fit for Hawaii and solid offensive scheme.

Although Graham has a defensive background, he has produced spread-tempo offenses that rack up points and yards. Bruce Feldman, Fox Sports senior college football columnist, tweeted that Chip Long, Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator the past three seasons, is a possibility to join Graham’s UH staff.

Long is among the success stories from Graham’s coaching tree. Ten of Graham’s assistant coaches went on to become Division I head coaches, including Auburn’s Gus Malzahn, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Nevada’s Jay Norvell.

Graham has been head coach at Arizona State (2012-2017), Pittsburgh (2011), Tulsa (2007-2010), and Rice (2006). In 12 seasons as head coach, he compiled a 95-61 record with 10 bowl appearances. He led Tulsa to a 62-35 victory over UH in the 2010 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Graham reportedly received $12 million after separating from ASU in 2017. He has not coached the past two seasons, although he turned down offers in 2019.