The Ken Niumatalolo era at Navy is over.
The academy announced on Sunday that Niumatalolo would not return as head coach a day after an overtime loss to the Army. Niumatalolo was the most successful coach in school history with a record of 109-83 since the end of the 2007 season. But Navy finished the season with four or fewer wins and three straight seasons four times in the last five years.
The Midshipmen are also 2-5 in their last seven matchups with Army and 2-5 against Air Force in the same span. A year ago, after an early loss to the Air Force, athletic director Chet Gladchuk fired offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper, who was long expected to replace Niumatalolo. Niumatalolo eventually persuaded Gladchuk to keep Jasper on staff as quarterbacks coach. This year’s Navy team improved with a win against UCF and a near comeback against Notre Dame, but Gladchuk was clearly not happy with the overall direction of the program.
“Our sincere gratitude goes to Coach Ken for his distinguished and impactful legacy at the Naval Academy,” Gladchuk said in a press release. “Navy football thrived under his leadership for many years. He will forever be remembered for the impact he had on the lives of those who played for him. We all have great respect and appreciation for his 25 years of service to the Academy. … The Naval Academy will now move forward with continued high ambition, ushering in a new era of validated expectations for Navy football and our midshipmen.”
Jobs in the service academy are not often offered. Navy has had two head coaches since 2002, and Charlie Weatherbie was the last Navy head coach, being fired in 2001. Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun has been in charge since 2007, and Army’s Jeff Monken took over ahead of the 2014 season.
How good is the Navy job? What names could come into the mix? Here are the factors to consider.
Navy had three consecutive seasons with four wins or fewer. (Danny Wild / USA today)
You can win in the Navy and in the service academies
The success of the Navy, Army, and Air Force over the past two decades is one of the most remarkable situations in all of the sport. They are the only programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision whose players do not come with plans to make the NFL. The athletes are there for future military service and for training. While rosters and coaching staffs are larger than allowed elsewhere, academies do not sign players through Power 5 schools. They always rank at the bottom of the country in recruitment rankings.
And yet Navy has won at least eight games 13 times in 14 seasons from 2003-16. Army has won at least eight games five times in six years from 2016-21, and Air Force has won at least eight games nine times under Calhoun, including 19 wins over the past two seasons.
It’s usually difficult for all three service academies to win at the same time since they recruit the same pool of players. It is no coincidence that the decline of the Navy coincided with the rise of the Army. This year’s Navy team was one of the youngest ever, finishing .500 in the American Athletic Conference game.
This is something to build on, but the next trainer needs to have more recruit wins vs. Army and Air Force.
There are more and more modern restrictions at service academies
The transfer portal here is essentially a one-way street. With relaxed NCAA transfer rules, players can leave the Navy without having to take a year off.
Conversely, naval and service academies generally do not add transfers due to service requirements. There is no grad school to add experienced players. Additionally, athletes cannot receive offers of name, likeness or likeness. It’s technically illegal as Service Academy players are considered government employees. Niumatalolo pointed to these concerns in the ever-changing world of college football.
“Now people can build their teams through the portal and do well. We can’t do that,” Niumatalolo told The Athletic over the summer. “We have to build a team. We must build together. … That’s probably the only downside for us. The league has gotten better. I’m always in touch with our sporting director and administration to make sure we’re competitive. We will never be able to go into the transfer portal. We cannot use NIL. Those are the discussions I have to have as a head coach.”
The academies also can’t accept redshirt players, though Navy coaches, fans and officials often taunted the Army and Air Force for finding loopholes with “turnbacks” that can salvage eligibility. The Navy did not use these, resulting in an experience disadvantage.
Will Navy stick with the triple option background?
Service Academies play this attack style because it’s the big equalizer. When teams are smaller on offense and defense, they have to find other ways to move the ball.
Unique for opponents to prepare for, Triple Option Offense shortens plays with less possession and can take away an opponent’s advantage in open space.
But the NCAA continues to enact more rules restricting cut blocks, to the detriment of triple-option teams. It’s getting harder and harder to move the ball legally. Georgia Southern, a longtime triple-option team, moved away from that history with the hiring of Clay Helton last year, but the Eagles have a higher recruiting cap.
Navy football has changed since joining a conference
The Midshipmen joined the AAC in 2015 after more than a century of independence. They played in the 2016 AAC title game, but the program has since declined. Did the rest of the conference take what Navy is doing and limit its uniqueness? That’s what some people in the league think.
Navy has set a successful conference record for the past six years. Army, meanwhile, remains an independent club and plays two FCS games each year. But the Air Force has been in conference since 1980 and has not defected.
The AAC will also be reformed in 2023. UCF, Cincinnati and Houston are gone while Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA will attend the conference. Including Navy, seven of the 14 teams in the conference will have a new head coach.
So what names could come into the mix?
Kennesaw State Head Coach Brian Bohannon coached alongside Niumatalolo at Navy from 2002 to 2007 before following Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech. Bohannon became Kennesaw State’s first head coach and has a record of 68-24 in eight seasons, with five consecutive FCS top 15 finishes from 2017-21. He has a solid background with the triple option offense and he has Navy experience. But Kennesaw State will advance to FBS and Conference USA in 2024. Would he want to leave for a possibly tougher job?
Army Offensive Coordinator Brent Davis played an integral part in the rise of the Black Knights. Army had reached one bowl in seven years before Davis and Monken arrived, and the program has reached five bowls in the past seven years. Davis has a long history with the triple option offense from his days with the Army and Georgia Southern before that.
Air Force Offensive Coordinator Mike Thiessen has played and trained throughout his Air Force career and has been with the team since 2007. The Falcons are 33-11 for the past four seasons and have led the nation in rushing yards per game for the past three years. Opponents have praised the Air Force’s ability to mix up its offense, using option tendencies but also throwing in typical running plays to surprise a defense. Thiessen was there for the Georgia Southern job last year and has impressed many in the industry.
defense coordinator Brian Newberry will act as interim head coach but could also be an in-house option. When Newberry arrived in 2019, the Navy’s defense made huge strides, improving in many key stats from bottom of the country to the top 40. This year’s defense took another step forward. The Navy held Notre Dame for 16 total yards in the second half as the Midshipmen almost made a miraculous comeback. The midshipmen also kept the Army to a total of 153 yards through regulation and two overtime hours. Prior to the Navy, Newberry served as Kennesaw State Defense Coordinator under Bohannon. Navy offensive line coach Ashley Ingram has been in the program for 15 years and plays a key role in the heights below Niumatalolo. Ingram is also in the mix for the job as head coach at The Citadel. The QBs coach’s layoff Even jasper last year seems to make his candidacy unlikely.
Army Defense Coordinator Nate Woody has been with the Black Knights since 2020 when his defense ranked 17th nationally in yards per game allowed. He brought experience from outside the service academies, having trained at Michigan, Georgia Tech, Appalachian State and Wofford.
This story will be updated.
(Photo by Navy cornerback Mbiti Williams Jr. and Army wide receiver Isaiah Alston: Danny Wild/USA Today)
Comments are closed.