Pandemic puts new coaches in deep bind

Nick Rolovich dived right in when Washington State hired him in January. Like all first-year coaches, he had to make up ground in a hurry.

There were assistants to hire, a roster to learn, players and administrators to meet. He had to reassure the most recent signees, begin work on securing future recruiting classes. Rolovich also had to set expectations for coaches and players while implementing new offensive and defensive systems.

Just when it seemed like things were up and rolling, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The ensuring national shutdown hurt coaches across college football as they prepare for next season, but it was particularly difficult on programs with first-year coaches trying to build something from the ground up.

“I think most people would say it’d be not advantageous for a first-year coach,” Rolovich said. “We tend to think as coaches, whether it’s what the money has become, or the pressure of the job, you tend to always think you need to do more and more and more.”

Taking over a new program presents its own set of challenges. Coaches need all of spring to assess players and set a foundation, then build upon it in fall camp. Often, it’s still not enough time, leading to growing pains for the first season, maybe more.

The pandemic wiped out all spring activities in college athletics and could possibly carry over into the fall. That erases precious time for first-year coaches to strengthen relationships with players they’ve only known for a month or two, provide them with handson instruction and evaluate what they can do on the field.

A big portion of the teaching and assessing comes during spring football workouts. The NCAA allows teams to have 15 practices and a spring game in a span of 29 consecutive days, with most wrapping up by the end of April.