1/3/2002 - Football
Niumatalolo Named Assistant Head Coach And Offensive Line Coach
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ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Navy head football coach Paul Johnson announced Thursday that Ken Niumatalolo has joined his staff as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. Niumatalolo will coach the centers and guards. He was an assistant at Navy from 1995-98, serving as the offensive coordinator in '97-'98.
"I am excited to bring Kenny back to the Naval Academy," said Johnson. "He played for me at Hawaii and coached for me at Hawaii and Navy. He is an excellent coach and recruiter and knows this offense inside and out. He is a great addition."
Niumatalolo comes to Navy from UNLV where he coached for three seasons as the tight ends coach and worked with the kickoff return unit. Niumatalolo, who coordinated the option game for UNLV, called the offensive plays for the Rebels the last two seasons.
"I am really excited to be back at the Naval Academy, it feels like I am coming home," said Niumatalolo. "What makes this special is not only am I coming back to Navy, but I am coming back to work with Coach Johnson. We are looking forward to turning the program around."
"We hate to lose Kenny, but the opportunity at Navy was just too good," said legendary UNLV head coach John Robinson. "He did a lot of nice things here and we wish him well."
Under Niumatalolo's guidance, UNLV ranked sixth in the nation in kickoff returns in 2001 and finished second in 1999. Starting tight end DeJhown Mandley developed into one of the team's top receiving threats, finishing third on the team in receptions with 16, while quarterback Jason Thomas became one of the better quarterbacks in the country, rushing for 481 yards and four touchdowns and throwing for 1,353 yards and eight touchdowns.
A 1989 graduate of the University of Hawaii, Niumatalolo lettered three years as a quarterback, including leading the Rainbows to their first-ever postseason bowl appearance in 1989. He was hired as a full-time assistant by his alma mater in 1992 and spent three seasons coaching on the offensive side.
In 1995, Niumatalolo came to Annapolis with Paul Johnson as the running backs coach and then became the offensive coordinator in 1997 after Johnson took the head-coaching job at Georgia Southern.
While with the Midshipmen, Niumatalolo tutored Chris McCoy, who holds the NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season with 20 in 1997.
Under Niumatalolo, McCoy became only the 10th player in NCAA history to rush for more than 1,000 yards and pass for more than 1,000 yards in the same season. In addition, Navy finished among the nation's top five in rushing the last two years and broke 38 school offensive records during his tenure.
A native of Laie', Hawaii, Niumatalolo is a graduate of Radford High School in Honolulu where he earned All-OIA West honors his last two seasons. During his two years as a starter, Radford went 22-1, including a triumph in the 1981 Oahu Prep Bowl Championship.
Niumatalolo and his wife, Barbara, have three children: Alexcia (12), Va'a (8) and Ali'i (3).
