There was only one thing left to do before one of Hawai'i's favorite football sons — quarterback Nick Rolovich — returned to his alma mater as the Warriors' quarterback coach.

"I guess I should announce my retirement (as a player)," Rolovich said. "I'm announcing my retirement right now."

By accepting an offer to join the Warriors' coaching staff, Rolovich is giving up the chase for a professional football career. He now will fulfill his calling to teach "football morals."

"As much as I love throwing touchdowns," he said, "and as much as I enjoy getting hit and coming up with something clever to say to the guy who hit me, working with young players and seeing the light go on, that's a greater feeling of satisfaction."

The past two years, Rolovich moonlighted as the quarterback coach at City College of San Francisco, which won a 2007 national championship.

During one game, he was set to signal an audible.

"Something caught me," recalled Rolovich, who decided to allow the quarterback to make the call. "I thought, 'Let me see if you can do it now. This is your chance.' And he got it, and we scored a touchdown, and we went on to have a great year.

"It's a different satisfaction," Rolovich added. "You almost have 100 times the effect. Maybe what I teach them, they're going to teach to somebody some day. I like to call it 'good football morals.' Good football stuff is passed down. For one, it's the greatest game in the world. It should be played and taught with football morals. There's a right way to teach things, and a right way to approach players."

In 2001, Rolovich led the Warriors to one of the most successful stretches in program history. He was 8-1 as a starter that year, including a spectacular final three games in which he threw for 1,548 yards and 20 touchdowns.

His 543-yard, eight-touchdown performance against Brigham Young in the season finale led to the creation of the Hawai'i Bowl. The 9-3 Warriors were not invited to a postseason bowl that year.

After that, Rolovich played in parts of five seasons in the Arena Football League. Because the AFL plays in the spring, he was able to serve as a Warrior student manager in 2004 (quarterback Tim Chang's senior year) and 2005 (Heisman finalist Colt Brennan's first UH season). Part of his role was to work with Chang and Brennan.

"Colt would ask me a lot of questions about the offense, living in Hawai'i, dealing with the media," Rolovich said.

Last year, Rolovich earned his master's degree. He also played for Las Vegas in the AFL. In the offseason, Rolovich, who is married and has a 5-month-old son, worked for the Rabbitt Construction Company in the Bay Area, as well as coached at CCSF. As the Rams' quarterback coach, he earned $1,500 for the season.

He said only a UH coaching job could lure him away from the Bay Area. His wife is from Maui.

"There's no better place for my son to grow up," Rolovich said of Hawai'i. "The ocean, the smiles of the people, it's a very positive environment for him to grow up in."

Rolovich also looks forward to working with UH's quarterbacks.

"Your coach is really your father away from home," Rolovich said. "That's where I want to excel this year. I want to make sure they're all good with school, they're all good with their personal life.

"Everyone told me (the playing career) is going to end some day," he added. "I said, 'Yeah, right. I'm going to play until my knees fall off.' But it does (end). You really need to have a plan. I was lucky enough to be able to play, and I'm fortunate this (coaching) opportunity came along."

Visit Tsai's blog at www.HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.