Sources: SJSU eyeing ex-Navy coach Niumatalolo

Pete Thamel, ESPNJan 20, 2024, 06:08 PM ET

San Jose State is targeting former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo as the school’s next head coach, sources told ESPN.

A deal is expected to come together within the next 48 hours, sources say. Niumatalolo brings extensive head coaching experience but will vary his offense, as sources told ESPN that he’s not expected to run the triple option at San Jose State.

Sources said that Niumatalolo will prioritize hiring a youthful staff that includes an offensive coordinator who’ll bring some type of wide-open and pass-heavy system.

Niumatalolo is Navy’s all-time winningest coach, as he went 109-83 in his 15 full seasons there.

San Jose State athletic director Jeff Konya sought an experienced head coach who could carry on the momentum from former coach Brent Brennan. He’d led San Jose State to bowl games in three of the last four seasons. Konya also aimed to move quickly after Brennan left for Arizona on Tuesday.

With the expected upcoming hire of Niumatalolo in the near future, Konya appears to have achieved both of the search’s primary objectives. With the San Jose players eligible to go into the transfer portal, Konya has moved swiftly to bring in a coach who will bring both stability, vision and experience.

San Jose State’s candidate pool prioritized coaches with head coaching experience, and Niumatalolo has plenty of that from his Navy tenure. He coached 192 games at Navy, including 11 bowl appearances and eight seasons with eight or more wins.

Perhaps most important for the Navy coach, he had a 10-5 record against Army, the most wins by any coach in the series. Niumatalolo’s 109 career wins mean that he’ll arrive as one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in the Mountain West, as only Bronco Mendenhall (135), Troy Calhoun (130) and Jeff Tedford (127) have more career wins.

In 2015, Navy went 11-2 under Niumatalolo with a 7-1 record in the American Athletic Conference and blew out Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl. In 2016, Navy beat Notre Dame and reached the AAC title game, losing to Matt Rhule’s Temple team.

Niumatalolo, 58, is expected to tailor his staff around youthful energy and West Coast ties. San Jose State officials prioritized a wide-open system, which channels the Bay Area’s recruiting resources of strong quarterbacks and skill position players. That means a potential offensive coordinator hire who’ll mark a system pivot for Niumatalolo.

He’s a former quarterback at Hawaii who began his coaching career there and also worked at UNLV from 1999-2001. He also brings strong national recruiting ties, as Navy cast a wide net for its players.

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.

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.

Niumatalolo said in an interview with The Athletic in June that another reason he went to UCLA was learning Chip Kelly’s offense, as Niumatalolo openly acknowledged he couldn’t run the option at his next head coaching stop.

“Not only am I learning portal and NIL stuff, but you get to learn Chip’s stuff,” he said in that June interview. “There’s a lot of things coming here. I recognize there are only three schools running the option. For me coming here, it allows me, if there is an opportunity, coming here will provide some things that may help me if I look toward the future.” –