Niumatalolo keeps Navy cruising forward
Ken Niumatalolo’s first trip to American Athletic Conference media days came when the league was known as the Big East Conference, which provides the first example of how much has changed since the Midshipmen announced their intention to dump independent status in favor of conference affiliation. Nothing paints the picture of a changed landscape quite like a football league that no longer exists.
That was in the summer of 2013, two years before Navy would officially enlist in the American, and as Niumatalolo rubbed shoulders with his future coaching peers and colleagues he couldn’t have known of another future change: By the time 2015 rolled around, none of those head coaches would remain.
“I think of our first meeting here,” Niumatalolo told USA TODAY Sports. “I’m the only original guy still here. It’s sobering to think that there’s no one else.”
Football adapts, evolves, reinvents itself. Offensive schemes spring from one corner of the country and enter the vogue nationwide. Defensive tricks to combat the offensive revolution take root. Here in the American, for example, no coach other than Niumatalolo (11 years at Navy) has spent more than two seasons at his current program.
“In the landscape of college football today, it’s very difficult for that to happen,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said.
There’s a reason for that. As the unbeaten Midshipmen prepare for Saturday’s rivalry game against Air Force, Navy stands out from its peers in the American and nearly every program across the country for Niumatalolo’s push for consistency — a simple word that nonetheless escapes much of the Football Bowl Subdivision.
There’s consistency in the results. Navy is 30-8 in its last 38 games; 17-2 in regular-season conference games since joining the American; 4-0 for the second time in three years. Has won 16 in a row at home. Has 41 wins since the start of the 2013 season, tied for second among Group of Five programs.
“There’s a method to madness in having an attention to detail,” Niumatalolo said.
And there’s consistency — deep, unbending, unwavering consistency — in the approach. There have been subtle changes: Navy has altered its approach to in-season conditioning and has tweaked its practice habits, as in how the offense rehearses for goal-line situations. (The Midshipmen now take snaps against bags rather than live tacklers.)
“When I first became a head coach, I had some thoughts about what I wanted to do in terms of culture,” Niumatalolo said. “It made me realize that culture is everything. And culturally, we’re the same. But we constantly evolve. You can’t stay status quo in this profession. You’ve got to keep moving forward.”
But the offense, a triple-option affair more at place in the last century than today, maintains the same basic formula from year to year, with slight weekly adjustments to match the opponent. Even for sophomores such as quarterback Zach Abey, the nation’s leading rusher at his position, the offense essentially has become muscle memory — Navy rolls out one Saturday, churns out yards and chews up clock, and then returns seven days later to do the same.
“I wouldn’t say we changed a whole lot,” Abey said. “We wrap around this culture thing where we’re all one unit, where every single person on the offense has their job. We never have a major change. We come in year in and year out just dominating the rushing game, so that’s our culture.”
Added sophomore slot back Malcolm Perry, “Nothing really varies from week to week except the opponent. We prepare the same.”
The success hasn’t bred imitation. It has, however, raised Niumatalolo’s national profile, leading to interest from several Power Five programs during the last two winters. One, Brigham Young, came closest to pulling the 52year-old out of Annapolis. But California inquired in December. Maryland, Virginia and Syracuse poked around for their openings two years ago.
The reason he remained is simple: Niumatalolo loves Navy. He remembers a trip this summer to the North Shore of Oahu, where he ran into a former Navy player now in command of his own ship. It struck a chord.
“The thing I think about more than anything is being at a place for so long and seeing what these guys become, the men they become,” he said. “Not only do I feel like we’ve been able to win, but we’ve been able to do it the right way. I have a great job. The grass isn’t always greener somewhere else.”
That he turned down BYU might suggest that Niumatalolo is at Navy for the duration. That’s probably true. But a Power Five program will call by the end of November — that’s guaranteed. He’ll take the call, as he does, and be up front about it, as he has been in the past, but Niumatalolo very likely will be with the Midshipmen for the rest of his coaching career.
The legacy by that point — let’s say another decade, maybe more — will have Niumatalolo on a course for the College Football Hall of Fame. He laughed off the idea. But time will tell. Navy’s consistency has him on track.
GAMES YOU SHOULDN’T MISS
It’s impossible to watch every game. (I know. I’ve tried.) Until the invention of picture-in-picture-in-picture television technology, I’m here to help. In each time window, here are this Saturday’s games you can’t afford to miss (times Eastern):
Noon: No. 4 Penn State at Northwestern (ABC). With a key matchup with Michigan up next, this could be a trap game for the Nittany Lions. 3:30 p.m.: No. 23 West Virginia at No. 10 TCU (Fox Sports 1). The game of the day in college football will have all eyes on the Big 12.
Prime time: No. 1 Alabama at Texas A&M (7:15 p.m., ESPN). After mauling their first two Southeastern Conference opponents, the Crimson Tide turn their sights to Kevin Sumlin’s Aggies.
After dark: Stanford at No. 18 Utah (10:15 p.m., Fox Sports 1). The Utes are viewing this as an opportunity for some national respect — if the East Coast can stay up for the end.