San Jose State has hired Ken Niumatalolo as its next head football coach, it was announced Sunday.
Terms of the deal were not announced, but sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that it is a five-year deal through the 2028 season.
“We are thrilled that Coach Niumatalolo has accepted the opportunity to lead our football program,” athletic director Jeff Konya said in a statement. “He is a proven winner and brought the Naval Academy to unprecedented heights by winning eight or more games in nine seasons during his tenure. It’s impressive when you see that he had success against national brands like Notre Dame, Virginia, Kansas State and Pittsburgh, and even finished ranked inside the top 25 twice.”
Niumatalolo, 58, replaces Brent Brennan, who left for Arizona on Thursday, and brings extensive experience to the Spartans but will vary his offense and is not expected to run the triple option, sources told ESPN.
Niumatalolo is Navy‘s all-time winningest coach. He went 109-83 in 15 full seasons there through 2022, took the Midshipmen to 11 bowl appearances and had eight campaigns with eight or more wins.
He is expected to tailor his staff around youthful energy and West Coast ties. San Jose State officials prioritized a wide-open system to take advantage of the Bay Area’s recruiting resources of strong quarterbacks and skill position players.
Niumatalolo’s role at UCLA in 2023 included the title director of leadership. He spoke openly about going to UCLA to learn the nuances of the transfer portal and NIL to prepare him for another head-coaching opportunity.
San Jose State won the Mountain West title under Brennan in 2020. He led them to three of the school’s 11 total bowl births, which included the Hawaii Bowl this season and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl last year.
