HONOLULU – New University of Hawai'i football head coach Nick Rolovich announced that offensive line coach Chris Naeole and defensive backs coach Abe Elimimian will be retained as part of his inaugural staff.
 
Naeole served as the team's interim head coach for its final four games and has coached the offensive line for the past three seasons. Elimimian, a former Warrior and teammate of Rolovich's, joined the staff in March.
 
"I'm excited to have Chris and Abe on the team," Rolovich said. "On film, I've seen Chris develop the offensive line these past few years and I've seen improvement. Abe, I know, has passion for this University and this football program and his work ethic is all things we want in our staff as we move forward."
 
With 13 years of NFL experience, Naeole helped transform the offensive line unit into a hard-nosed and physical group. The Kahuku, O'ahu native tutored four-time all-conference honorable mention selection Ben Clarke, who started and played in all 50 games at Hawai'i, and sophomore guard Dejon Allen, who also earned honorable mention honors this past season after leading the team with 52 knockdowns and allowing only one sack all season.
 
Elimimian, a former all-conference cornerback at UH from 2001-04, came to UH after a two-year stint at Simon Fraser (Canada), where he served as defensive coordinator in 2014. This past season, Elimimian mentored cornerback Nick Nelson, who earned honorable mention all-MW honors after posting 15 pass break-ups, eighth-best in the nation.