Former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo still has a lot to give to college football


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PROVO — Thursday wasn't the first time former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo had returned to BYU's campus since he interviewed to be the next head football coach in 2015.

We all know how that turned out — the university hired Kalani Sitake, Niumatalolo returned to the U.S. Naval Academy, and both sides have gone their separate ways, save for a brief meeting to open the 2020 football season in Annapolis, Maryland.

But Niumatalolo hasn't strayed far from the program led by one of the only other Polynesian head coaches in college football, and not just because of their shared faith. The 57-year-old coach has two sons who played football on the Wasatch Front — and for better or worse, both followed him into the coaching profession, at UCLA and Navy.

So when Sitake asked Niumatalolo to be the featured guest during the Cougars' annual high school coaches' clinic during spring practices, it wasn't so much of a homecoming as an opportunity.

No, Niumatalolo hasn't been hired to Sitake's staff. But yes, he still wants to be involved in football. And he will be soon enough; he alluded to it without naming any specific jobs or positions.

Eventually, the longtime face of the U.S. Naval Academy who was not retained in December will get back into coaching — at some level.

"I did a couple of TV interviews, and I never got a call back. So, obviously, I didn't do too well in those interviews," he joked. "I have a couple of opportunities that I'm looking at right now, and it should materialize really quickly. ... I want to stay in the game. My wife doesn't want me hanging around the house, so I'm going to keep coaching."

He also isn't as tied to the Annapolis area anymore; Niumatalolo — a public face of his faith since he appeared in the "Meet the Mormons" documentary — said he was recently released from the area's stake presidency in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Being a head football coach is way harder than being a stake president," he said with a chuckle. "In the stake presidency, you know the church is true and you just do what's supposed to happen. Football is a different deal."

He still believes he has plenty to give back to the game, though. Niumatalolo won 109 games with 83 losses in 15 seasons at Navy, including beating Commander-in-Chief's Trophy rival Army 10 times in a row before losing five of the last seven. He also shepherded the program from FBS independence into the American Athletic Conference, and was named league coach of the year three times.

Those who heard him speak at the BYU coaching clinic, from players to coaches and staff members to area high school coaches, would agree: Niumatalolo has plenty left to give.

"Just being around him is a good reminder that there are plenty of ways to be successful," BYU assistant Fesi Sitake said. "That includes your personality; he's very calm, mild-mannered, and he isn't as fiery as some other coaches out there. But he does have a switch, and I think that's an important power.

"It was awesome to see that you can be true to yourself. You don't have to change and become what you see on TV, but you can still find a lot of success."

About that interview in 2015, when Niumatalolo was reportedly one of the final candidates before athletic director Tom Holmoe selected Sitake, the now former coach said there are no hard feelings over the outcome, despite being "deeply interested" when he flew out to Provo in 2015 to interview.

"It's worked out great. The guy that is the head coach needs to be the head coach," Niumatalolo said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in it. But I also had a great job, too. I came to take a look at it, and I'm grateful that they interviewed me. But in the long run, it ended up right."

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo and his wife Barbara arrive at the airport in Salt Lake City Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015.
Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo and his wife Barbara arrive at the airport in Salt Lake City Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

He's been as supportive of Sitake's tenure at the church-owned school as anyone, catching their games when his schedule would allow — and not just to watch son Va'a, a BYU linebacker from 2011-17 who is now a defensive analyst with the Midshipmen.

When he was in town, he'd visited with Sitake before as the two have conversations "that only so many guys understand," and grab a burger from In-N-Out Burger in Orem so many times "they probably have a picture of me on the wall."

But those conversations were strictly business and plainly private.

"I don't give him any advice. He's doing awesome," Niumatalolo said. "I just love what he's doing here. I feel like this football program is a great flagship for the church, the way they conduct themselves, the way Kalani represents himself, the school and the church. I think it's awesome, and I'm excited for them to go to the Big 12."

As for Niumatalolo, his run at Navy — one that began in 1995 and ran for all but three seasons through 2022, save for three years at UNLV — concluded last fall when the academy did not renew his contract.

As much a part of the Naval Academy's setup as anyone in the program's modern era, Niumatalolo found himself without a job. And yet, he made it clear Thursday that he wants to coach again.

Wherever that may be, either as a head coach, coordinator or assist, Niumatalolo added he isn't predestined to bring his unique triple-option offense he learned as a graduate assistant under then-Hawaii offensive coordinator Paul Johnson.

"We did that by necessity," he said. "We did it from a standpoint of, we weren't as big as anybody. That's why the only three teams that did it were service academies.

"But football is football. If you're somewhere else with the same people, that would be by necessity."

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