College football insider says 1 Power 5 head coach may be coaching his last game Saturday
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Washington State hosts Stanford at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday in Pullman. The Cougars are 3-3 and coming off a victory over Oregon State on Oct. 9.
After a 1-3 mark in 2020 as the Cougars battled through a season abbreviated by COVID-19, Nick Rolovich is in the midst of his 2nd season as Mike Leach’s successor. However, a law in the state of Washington requires all secondary and higher education personnel to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, or they risk termination unless they are approved for a religious exemption.
That could spell trouble for Rolovich, who has declined to get vaccinated and has sought exemption from doing so. His request is currently under review.
”If he doesn’t get the religious exemption he’s seeking, then his last day of work is going to be Monday,” college football insider Bruce Feldman said on FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” on Saturday. “Now, if he does get approved, then he can keep working. The other scenario is if it’s still in the review process, then he also would not be able to keep coaching.”
Feldman then reported that the university has a “contingency plan” in case Rolovich’s exemption is denied. In fact, a number of coaches on his staff are awaiting the results of their own reviews and also face termination.
“I’m told this situation has created all sorts of friction between Rolovich and his bosses,” he said. “It’s also put the team in a very awkward situation. On top of that, (Saturday) could actually be the last game Nick Rolovich coaches as the Washington State head coach.”
"Today could actually be the last game Nick Rolovich coaches as the Washington State head coach"@BruceFeldmanCFB has more on the vaccine mandate that is making things complicated for the Cougars' head coach ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HSCDAVyvLR
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 16, 2021
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
