San Jose State reportedly pursuing former Navy head coach Niumatalolo as Brennan’s replacement
Ken Niumatalolo left the Naval Academy in 2022 after 15 seasons as the winningest coach in program history; he was recently named UCLA's tight ends coach
San Jose State is reportedly targeting Ken Niumatalolo to be its next head football coach, replacing Brent Brennan. He would be the program’s 30th head coach in school history.
Niumatalolo, the former Navy head coach, is expected to reach a deal with the school in the next couple of days, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Niumatalolo was in charge at Navy from 2007 to 2022 and compiled a record of 109-83 in 15 seasons, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach. Most recently, he was the tight ends coach at UCLA under Chip Kelly.
This is San Jose State’s first head coaching search since 2016 after Brennan was hired at the University of Arizona earlier this week. The program looked at a variety of candidates but preferred someone with prior head coaching experience.
SJSU athletic director Jeff Konya was spotted at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, which led some to speculate whether he was meeting Niumatalolo to discuss the head coach opening.
Originally from Hawaii, Niumatalolo played quarterback for two seasons at the University of Hawaii from 1987-1989. He took over Navy in 2007 after serving as the team’s associate head coach and offensive line coach for five seasons.
During his time as head coach, Niumatalolo won three conference titles in the American Athletic Conference, including back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016. He was named AAC coach of the year three times and was 6-5 in bowl games. He secured three of the Midshipmen’s 13 all-time wins over juggernaut Notre Dame during his tenure.
Niumatalolo is expected to hire an offensive coordinator who has a wide-open, pass-heavy scheme, according to Thamel’s report.
In addition to playing for Hawaii, he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Rainbow Warriors from 1990-1994. He then spent four seasons on the offensive staff at Navy, then went to another school familiar to Spartans fans, UNLV, as the tight ends and special teams coach from 1999-2001 before returning to Annapolis.